The Luckiest Girl in the World
by imekitty
Summary: To learn more about the ghost boy, Paulina makes a wish one night to switch places with Sam. A wellmeaning ghost decides to grant her that wish...
1. 1

**Author's Note**: Okay, I know that there are tons of Paulina haters out there. However, I happen to be a fan of hers. I find her to be a very entertaining character. Sure, she's a witch, but she's still funny. I don't understand why everyone hates her so much, though. Dash is much meaner than she is. Paulina has actually been genuinely nice to Danny while Dash has never once treated Danny kindly. Anyway, if you really do hate Paulina, you may not want to read this story. If you do, just don't review my story based on your hatred for her.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World **

Danny leaned against his locker and shook his head. "No way."

"Oh, come on!" Tucker pleaded.

Danny shook his head again. "No."

Sam folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Why not, Danny?"

Danny phased his arm through his locker door and grabbed his book for class. "Because the first two movies sucked. There's no way I'm going to see the third one."

"But Danny! The critics say that 'Anti-Timmy Force III' is good! Nothing like 'Anti-Timmy Force I' and 'II!'" Tucker whined.

"Go see it, then," said Danny, "You don't need me to see it with you."

Sam rolled her eyes. "It's no fun to see a movie without your best friends." She then put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "How about I buy your ticket for you?"

"Popcorn and drink, too?" asked Danny.

Sam laughed and thought about how incredibly wealthy she was. "Danny, I can buy you anything you want."

Tucker and Danny chuckled as well, but Danny stopped as soon as he saw a pretty Hispanic girl walk by. He sighed dreamily and watched her saunter away. "Paulina…"

This upset Sam greatly. She moved in front of him so that he couldn't see the popular brunette. "Danny! Get over her already!"

Danny shrugged and smiled shyly. "I can't help it."

Sam frowned. "Well, what about Valerie?"

Danny was caught off-guard and averted his gaze. He said quietly, "Well…she doesn't like me…I don't think any girl _actually_ does."

Tucker cut in just then. He couldn't believe how dense Danny could be. "Danny, of course there's a girl that likes you!" He winked discreetly at Sam.

Sam blushed and coyly smiled. _Yeah, and she's standing right in front of you_, Sam thought to herself.

Danny was confused for a moment, then smiled broadly. "Hey, you're right!"

Sam looked up hopefully. Tucker nodded and said, "You bet I'm right!"

Danny grabbed Sam's shoulders and looked into her eyes excitedly. Sam's heartbeat quickened. He looked ready to pounce on her, to knock her over. _Oh, I wish he would!_ Sam thought subconsciously before abruptly pushing the immoral thought away.

"It's Paulina!" Danny exclaimed.

Sam's shy, hopeful smile turned into a scowl. Tucker slapped his hand to his forehead. Sam pulled away from Danny and snapped, "Danny, Paulina does _not_ like you."

"Yes, she does! She does! Well, not me, exactly, but she likes my ghost half!" Danny moved Sam to the left so that he could see Paulina, who was flirting with a couple of boys.

Tucker pulled Danny away to face him. "Yeah, she likes Danny _Phantom_, not Danny _Fenton_. In case you haven't noticed, she thinks that you're an unpopular loser, that I'm a techno geek, and that Sam's—"

"I don't _care_ what Paulina thinks about me," Sam interrupted angrily, slamming Tucker into a locker. Tucker yelped and started massaging his now sore right arm. Sam turned back to Danny and tried to say in what she hoped was a caring tone, "Danny, Paulina…she's nothing special, really. I mean, she may act like she has an interest in you just to get a night with you, but the next day, she'll dump you for someone else." Danny nodded. He couldn't help but agree. This lifted Sam's spirits as she continued, "There are better girls out there for you, Danny. Paulina is nothing more than a shallow, pretty face."

Danny smiled at Sam, and Sam smiled back, thinking that she had finally gotten through to him. Paulina then giggled loudly, and Danny couldn't help but turn and look at her again. "Emphasis on the 'pretty' part," he said distantly.

Sam threw her hands in the air and growled in frustration. "I give up!" She stormed off, hands balled tightly into fists, her face red with rage.

Danny was still staring at Paulina when Tucker tapped him on the shoulder. Danny turned to face him. Tucker opened his mouth to say something to him, but the bell rang.

"Hey, we gotta get to class. Tell me later, okay?" Danny said as he walked.

Tucker rolled his eyes and whispered as he walked with Danny to their first class, "He really is clueless."

-DP-

Paulina giggled at Dash's joke along with everyone else. She didn't really think it was funny, though. She didn't really think any of Dash's jokes were funny. Still, she liked leading boys on. It was like a game for her.

Dash moved in closer to Paulina and said just loud enough for her to hear, "So, Paulina, it's Friday…Wanna see a movie with me?"

Paulina smiled seductively. "That's sweet of you to offer, but I'm afraid I already have plans," Paulina told him, thinking of a cute boy she had just met the day before and was going to go on a date with that night.

Dash looked crestfallen. "Ah, c'mon, Paulina! We haven't gone out in, like, forever!"

Paulina shrugged her shoulders, still smiling. "Sorry, Dash, I've just been busy lately." _With other boys,_ she silently added.

The bell rang just then. Paulina flipped her hair over her shoulder and said goodbye to everyone. She started walking to her locker. _I am _so_ beautiful and popular_, she thought to herself, _I am surely the luckiest girl in the world._ She entered in her combination and opened her locker, a shrine devoted to Danny Phantom before her. She sighed as she grabbed her books. "No boy could ever compare to him," Paulina said aloud, "He's perfect in every way."

"Paulina, come on! Let's go!" Her friend, Star, rushed up to her.

Paulina quickly shut her locker. "Yes, yes, I'm coming." Paulina followed Star to their first class, still thinking about the ghost boy.


	2. 2

**Author's Note: **Well, I've gotten positive reviews so far. I've also discovered another Paulina fan. I'm so glad! I didn't know how well this would go over. I wanted to try something different. I've read a lot of Danny Phantom fanfiction, and I wanted to write one myself, but I wanted it to be something new.

Okay, here's the thing. The actual wish won't take place for a while. I was thinking about Paulina's character currently, and I realized that I had to really make her have a desire to find out more about the ghost boy. A real, true desire. I knew I had to build up to that because, as of now in the series, she doesn't seem to be at that point yet. So, yeah, the switch won't happen for a few more chapters in case you were wondering.

Anyway, this will be updated weekly. I actually have most of the story already written, but I'm uploading the chapters as I edit them.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

At lunch, Danny,Sam, and Tucker sat at their usual table. Sam ate her vegetarian meal quietly, refusing to look at Danny as he tried to get her involved in conversation.

"So, yeah, I think it'd be kind of odd if a Game Boy SP suddenly came out of my mouth," Danny said with a chuckle.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "It was just a commercial."

Danny looked to Sam, waiting for a snide remark from her. The Goth girl picked at her food, ignoring him. Danny said with a frown, "Sam, are you still mad at me?" When Sam said nothing, Danny continued, "Why are you so jealous of Paulina?"

Sam slammed her fist on the table and turned to him, her eyes filled with fury. "I am _not_ jealous of that shallow witch!"

"Yeah, I think you are," Danny said in an accusatory tone.

"Hey, hey, you guys. Just forget about it, okay? Let's all move on with our lives," Tucker said, hoping to stop a fight before it started.

Sam sighed, her eyes softening. "I…I just don't see what you see in her."

"She's…uh…pretty?" Danny offered lamely.

"Oh, good grief. You're just as shallow as she is," Sam muttered.

"Oh, so now you're calling _me_ shallow?" Danny snapped.

"Guys, guys!" Tucker tried to cut in, but it was no use. Danny and Sam were engaged in a heated argument. He groaned. "Not again."

-DP-

At another table in the room, Paulina, Kwan, Star, and Dash, along with some other popular kids, were laughing at another of Dash's jokes. Dash's jokes were usually mean-spirited and about people who they deemed pathetic.

"Those band geeks have no lives," Paulina said with a giggle.

"Speaking of geeks…" Dash nodded at a table a fair distance from them. Everyone turned to see Sam and Danny quarrelling with Tucker trying to calm them down.

"An unsightly Goth, a techno geek, and a…well, Fenton's just plain a loser," Dash said, smirking. The others at the table chuckled and continued making fun of them. Paulina, however, did not join them.

She watched the three friends in wonder. _A loser that seems to attract the ghost boy_, she thought to herself, _He is kind of cute, I guess. He'd do for a good time._ She watched Sam ball her hand into a fist. _She's such a freak. What does Danny see in that Goth girl anyway? I mean, come on! He picked _her _to be the Miss Teenage Happy Princess_. _Well, I guess I can't say he has bad taste. He does have a crush on _me_, after all. _Tucker managed to get Sam to calm down a little, her fist slowly relaxing. The hard look in her eyes remained. _I wonder…does Danny know anything about the ghost boy? I wonder what he could tell me about him…Perhaps if I asked him nicely…_

"Paulina?" Dash shook her shoulder.

Paulina tensed and turned her attention back to everyone. "Hmm, what?"

"Uh…why were you staring at those dorks?" Dash raised a brow.

Paulina was a bit confused for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Oh, I was just…thinking about how…pathetic they are…"

"Uh, okay…whatever…" Dash shrugged. "So, you still plan on coming to my party tomorrow night, right?"

"Oh, yes! Most definitely!" Paulina grinned. Before Dash could say anything else, Paulina said quickly, "I want you to invite Danny, too."

Dash's eyes widened. He smacked his forehead and moaned. "Oh, Paulina…_why?_"

Star looked at her Hispanic friend skeptically. "I think I know why…" She smiled slyly at Paulina.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that?" Paulina asked nervously.

"You were staring at him earlier, and now you want Dash to invite him to your party…" Star tried hard to suppress a chortle. "You like him."

The others at the table were shocked, but it did make sense to all of them. They started whispering and snickering amongst themselves. Paulina was clearly appalled. "I do not!"

"Yes, you do," Star said in a sing-song voice, "Remember that one time you were dating him for a little while?"

"No, actually, I don't," Paulina retorted. She truly did not remember ever going out with Danny despite what everyone kept telling her.

"You went to the dance with him that one time. Surely you remember that?" Star questioned.

"That was just to get back at that stupid Goth girl!" Paulina's eyes flared with anger.

"Whatever, Paulina. You totally like him," Star said with a frosty smile.

"Not true! I like the ghost boy!" protested Paulina.

"The ghost boy…you mean Danny Phantom?" Dash grinned. "That guy is seriously cool! This one time, we were, like, shrunk and stuff, and we had to run away from this crazy ghost guy, and the ghost kid's clothes kept changing for some reason."

Everyone in the group raised brows at him. Dash reddened. "What? Don't look at me like that!"

Kwan put a finger to his chin. "Hmm…Danny Fenton…Danny Phantom…Hey, have you guys ever noticed—"

"Oh, shut-up, Kwan," Paulina muttered.

"Okay, so if you don't like him, why do you want Dash to invite him?" Star asked.

"Well, you see, the ghost boy seems to show up wherever Danny is, so if Dash invites him, maybe the ghost boy will come," Paulina explained, "I invited him to my 15th birthday party, but the ghost boy didn't show up." Paulina slammed her fist on the table and cried, "And Danny promised that the ghost boy would be there!"

"Oh, yeah. That was the night of the meteor shower, right?" Kwan said, "I don't remember Fenton being there."

Paulina sighed. "Yeah, he didn't show up either…that's probably why the ghost boy wasn't there…"

Dash rolled his eyes. "Paulina, come on. You don't honestly think that if I invite Fenton, Danny Phantom is going to show up, do you?" When he saw that Paulina truly believed in her own logic, Dash growled and said resolutely, "Look, his sister, Jazz, made me invite him to my party this one time, and it was pure torture. I am _not_ going through that again."

Paulina looked at him irritably, then folded her arms and turned away. "Fine, then I just won't go to your stupid party."

"What?" Dash cried, "You have to go!"

"No, I don't, and I won't unless you invite him," Paulina said firmly.

Dash stared at her, hoping she would turn back to him with a girlish smile on her face and exclaim that she was only kidding. When that didn't happen, Dash realized that he had no choice. He grudgingly got up and had just started walking to Danny's table when several screams sounded.


	3. 3

**Author's Note: **Well, I can tell that a lot of people are going to be a bit surprised how this story turns out. The summary only tells the basic plotline of the story. There's a whole lot more that's going to happen. It really focuses more on Paulina's development and her feelings for Danny Fenton _and_ Phantom. I'm glad that people are interested in the story so far, though.

I had to really think about the popular kids for this fanfic. It appears that no one popular kid is actually valuable. Any of them could be disposed of quickly, like Valerie and Kwan were. Are they really friends, then? It just made me think a lot. Plus, the relationships are all over the place. Paulina used to not like Dash, but now she does? Valerie was shunned as a popular kid, but she's friends with Star? Star thinks Danny is a loser, but likes Valerie, who is no longer popular? Also, she said she wanted to be friends with Tucker, but later, they're cold towards each other? Then there's Kwan, who is sometimes nice and sometimes mean...and why does Mr. Lancer favor the popular kids so much? Just what kind of a teacher is he?

Well, onto the story.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

The school ghost alarm system went off. Danny felt a chill run through him. He looked around, suddenly alert. Sam looked around with him. They spotted a ghost that resembled a large snake towering over some students.

"We can continue our fight later, Danny. Right now, you need to get that ghost," said Sam determinedly.

"Uh, how about you guys_ not_ continue the fight?" Tucker asked hopefully.

"Cover me, guys." Danny ducked under the table and transformed. "I'm going ghost!"

Sam and Tucker watched as Danny Phantom phased through the table and into the air. Tucker beamed. "He really is quite amazing."

Sam lowered her eyes sadly. "Yeah…yeah, he is…" _I wish he'd notice me…_

-DP-

The popular kids looked at the ghost, terrified.

"Let's get out of here!" Dash cried.

The other popular students rushed out of the room, but Paulina grabbed Dash's arm before he could get away. "Wait, the ghost boy will come and save us! I know he will!"

The ghost snake was suddenly slammed into the near wall. The students it was attacking sprinted for the exit. White-haired and green-eyed Danny Phantom, wearing his normal black and white jumpsuit, was floating in the air. His fists were glowing with green ectoplasmic energy.

Paulina squealed with joy. "It's him! It's him! It's the ghost boy!" Paulina started running towards him.

Dash pulled her back. "Are you crazy?"

"Crazy in _love_!" Paulina was bursting with happiness.

Danny Phantom pulled out his Fenton Thermos and sucked the ghost into it. He then capped the device and let out a sigh of relief.

Paulina managed to break away from Dash and ran until she was underneath the ghost. Dash followed her. The brunette looked up and twirled below him, a big smile lighting up her face. "Ghost boy, ghost boy, ghost boy!"

Danny blushed and started descending to the ground.

-DP-

Nearby, Sam and Tucker were watching. Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh, what is he doing?"

"He's a boy in _love._ There's no telling what he'll do in this state," answered Tucker.

"He shouldn't be messing around. He needs to change back before some ghost hunters come or something," said Sam, knowing that Danny's parents would probably be by any moment due to the ghost alarm.

-DP-

Danny landed on the ground. Paulina, a little giddy, moved closer to him. She opened her mouth to say something when Dash walked up beside her. Paulina turned to him and whispered in his ear, "Invite the ghost boy to your party, Dash."

Dash pulled back. "What?"

"Invite him!" she whispered a little louder, "You won't have to invite that loser Danny if you do."

Dash smiled, relieved. "Okay, then! Danny Phantom would be a much cooler guest than Fenton!" He walked up to Danny Phantom and pulled out an invitation. He held it out to the ghost. "Hey, do you think you could make it to my party tomorrow night?"

Danny looked at the invitation, raised a brow, and looked back at Dash suspiciously. "Uh, why would you invite a ghost?"

"Well, you see, Paulina here—" He motioned to the brunette, who waved at Danny. "—wanted to invite this geek, Danny Fenton, in hopes that you would show up because she seems to think that you appear wherever that _loser_ is and—"

"Well, it's true!" Paulina snapped.

"Whatever, Paulina. Whatever." Dash rolled his eyes. "Anyway, she said I wouldn't have to invite Fenton if I invited you, so what do you say?" Dash put on his biggest, most dazzling smile.

Danny was a bit annoyed with the comments about his human self and turned away. "I think I'll pass."

Paulina clasped her hands together. "Oh, please, ghost boy! Please! I want my first dance to be with you!" She pouted.

Danny fought with his emotions. She was just _so_ pretty… "Okay…I'll…think about it…"

Paulina threw her hands into the air and wrapped them around Danny. "Oh, thank-you, thank-you!" Danny reddened slightly in her grip. He looked at Dash, whose eyes darkened. Danny wondered if perhaps he was jealous…

-DP-

Sam watched Paulina hug Danny. What was worse, Danny seemed to enjoy it. "I swear, I'm going to kill that girl one day…"

"Oh, relax, Sam. Danny _is_ a boy, after all," Tucker said reassuringly.

The doors behind them burst open. The two whirled around to find Danny's parents in their usual ghost hunting attire, their guns at the ready.

"Alright, where's the ghost?" Maddie demanded.

"Yeah, got the Jack-A-Nine-Tails all ready!" Jack held up the weapon proudly. Sam and Tucker blocked their way.

"It's okay! Danny Phantom took care of it!" Tucker told them.

Maddie didn't appear to hear him as she broke through the two friends and ran up to where the halfa was, Jack following close behind.

Danny heard something behind him and turned around. He gasped when he saw his parents. "Uh, I gotta go, Paulina…" He turned intangible and phased into the floor. Jack and Maddie looked around, confused. Danny then reappeared next to Sam and Tucker and changed back.

"Good job, Danny," Sam said sarcastically.

A voice sounded on the PDA system just then, telling all students that the ghost crisis was over and that everyone had to go to their classes.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked out of the cafeteria. Sam looked at Danny angrily and asked, "What were you _doing_, Danny? What happened with you, Paulina, and Dash?"

"Oh…Dash invited me to his party," Danny said casually.

"He _what_?" Tucker was shocked. "No way!"

"Well, Paulina wanted me to go, so Dash invited me." Danny shrugged.

"You said 'no,' right?" Sam asked.

"I told them I'd think about it," said Danny shyly.

"You can't be serious! I mean, the word will spread that you're going to be there, so you can bet there'll be ghost hunters at the party, not to mention reporters and news channels with cameras that will want to interview you or something!" Sam exclaimed.

"Oh, Sam. I'd be careful. I'd only appear to Paulina when she was…alone or something…" Danny realized how stupid that sounded before he could stop himself.

Sam snorted. "Yeah, Paulina…_alone_. You are such a moron sometimes, Danny." She shook her head and muttered, "We better hurry to class."

The three friends said nothing else as they started walking faster.


	4. 4

**Author's Note: **Well, I normally wouldn't upload a chapter until Sunday, but I felt like uploading one today, so there!

Wow, I managed to get someone who doesn't normally like Paulina fics interested! That is, like, really cool. I suppose this will be my only Paulina fic since no one else really seems to like her. Oh, and someone said that Danny is oblivious. I chuckled because it's true.

I tried to keep everyone in character, specifically Danny, who can be very shallow and will do anything for popularity, and when he gets it, which he has a couple of times, he gets kind of embarrassing. That's why I love him. He's so flawed.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Paulina looked into her full-length mirror and admired her features. _No wonder all of the boys like me. I'd like me, too._ She picked up her brush and ran it through her long, dark hair. _Oh, I hope the ghost boy comes to Dash's party tomorrow…_ She felt a blush rise to her cheeks. She realized that she had never had a real crush before. The only reason any boy ever caught her attention was lust. With the ghost boy, it was different.

Paulina put her brush down and placed her elbows on her desk, cupping her face in her hands. Yes, it was different. Sure, she thought he was good-looking and everything, but the way she felt about him seemed more girlish than the way she felt about other boys.

Paulina straightened up suddenly. Speaking of other boys… She rushed over to the phone by her bed and picked up the receiver. She dialed in a number and sat on her bed, crossing her legs as she waited for someone to answer.

"_Hello?_" a young, masculine voice said.

"Hi, Isaac. This is Paulina," said the brunette, a little too pleasantly.

"_Oh, hey!_" Isaac replied, "_I'm so excited about tonight—"_

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk about," Paulina cut him off. She casually observed her perfectly manicured nails.

"_Oh, really?_" The boy's voice sounded deflated.

"Yeah, you see, something's come up," Paulina told him, "We're going to have to cancel tonight's date."

"_Uh…yeah, that's fine,"_ Isaac said quietly.

"I'm so glad you understand," said Paulina.

"_So, uh…maybe some other time?_" asked the boy hopefully.

"Yes, maybe some other time," Paulina said without really meaning it, "Well, I have to go now, okay? Bye." Paulina hung up before Isaac had a chance to say anything else. She sighed and looked at a picture of Danny Phantom she had put on her wall. _I cancelled my date for you, ghost boy_, she thought to herself, _I just can't go out with other boys knowing that you might be at the party tomorrow. I'd feel like I'm having…an affair or something._

She furrowed her brow and wondered why she cared about that all of a sudden. She felt no guilt when she hurt other boys.

She continued to look at the picture. She smiled. _I suppose…my feelings are different for him. That's why I care._

-DP-

Danny, Sam, and Tucker walked out of the theater together. Danny rolled his eyes and said, "I _told_ you guys that it would be a stupid movie."

"Okay, yeah, it was pretty lame," Tucker admitted, "But, you've got to admit, the special effects were incredible."

"Ah, Danny, isn't it just fun to hang out with your best friends?" Sam asked him playfully.

The three started walking to Tucker's house. With Danny's ghost powers, they weren't afraid of walking alone in the dark. They made light conversation until Danny suddenly said, "I'm going to Dash's party tomorrow…as Danny Phantom."

Tucker's jaw dropped. Sam gasped. She studied his face, trying to figure out if he was serious. When she saw that he was, she exclaimed, flustered, "Danny, no! Bad idea! Why?"

"Paulina really wants me to, and I don't want to let her down," informed Danny.

"Danny, would you_ please _stop thinking about Paulina?" begged Sam, "Get over this stupid crush you have. Paulina could never return your feelings, not in the way you want her to."

"I just want one dance with her, and I don't mean one like the time she was my date for the school dance. She really does like Danny Phantom." The halfa smiled at the thought of dancing with Paulina.

Tucker expected Sam to start yelling, but when he looked at her, she seemed sad. Sam lowered her eyes. "Danny, I—"

"It's okay, Sam. I realize that Paulina isn't the right one for me, and that she's not exactly the nicest person. Just one dance, and I'll be happy." Danny looked at his best friend fondly. Sam returned the look and blushed.

_They're so cute_, Tucker thought to himself. He looked ahead in the distance. "Oh, here's my house." He walked up to his door and turned. Sam and Danny came up to him. They said good-bye to him. Tucker winked at Sam before going into his house.

"Well, it's just us now," Danny said.

"Yeah, it is." Sam smiled shyly. The two started walking to Sam's house.

"I'm sorry," Danny said quietly.

Sam eyed him, confused. "What for?"

"For the way I acted earlier. I feel bad. I don't know, Paulina just makes me feel all…weird." The dark-haired boy chuckled. "I know I need to get over her."

Sam suddenly felt guilty about the way she had treated him before as well. She said reassuringly, "Danny, it's okay. You're a boy. I don't blame you for acting like that around pretty girls."

"I don't act like that around you," Danny told her. He then winced, realizing what he said too late.

"Well, that's because I'm not…" Sam couldn't finish the sentence. It hurt too much.

"Sam, you are _very_ pretty. It's just, you know, you're my best friend," Danny explained. Sam said nothing. She looked at the ground as they continued walking. She looked up when she noticed something glowing next to her. She turned to Danny and saw that he was in ghost form.

"Danny, what are you doing?" she asked, shocked.

"I just feel like flying." Danny took Sam's hand and pulled her into the air with him. He took her high into the sky. They could touch the clouds.

Sam shivered. "Danny, it's cold up here. Let's go a little lower."

"Okay." Danny descended a bit. Sam held his hand tightly as he flew her to her home. They landed on the ground before her front door.

"That was fun," said Sam.

Danny let go of her hand. "I better get going."

"No!" Sam said abruptly. A bit embarrassed at her outburst, she looked down at the ground. "Are you sure you can't stay? Maybe we could just talk or something?"

She looked really beautiful all of a sudden. Danny knew he had to resist the urge to stay with her, though. His parents would start to worry if he didn't get home soon. He shook his head. "Sorry. I have to go."

Sam nodded. "I understand." She started to open her front door. "Well, see you later, Danny."

"Bye," Danny said. He then flew away. Sam watched him leave before finally entering her house.


	5. 5

**Author's Note: **I'm so glad I'm getting good reviews! There's someone else who loves Paulina, too! Sweet! And, I'm glad _someone _found the Game Boy SP part funny. I haven't seen the commercial in awhile, but I remember finding it hilarious in an obscure way, kind of like The Far Side. Like, it's so _not _funny, that it's funny.

I'm pretty close to finishing the story, I think. I have 17 chapters written already. I believe there will be close to25 chapters total, and I write at least one chapter a week, but it's often more because I just love writing this story. It's one of the most fun stories I've written in a long time. I still haven't decided exactly what's going to happen in the end. I mean, I have two basic ideas for the end, but I have to first decide who I want to please more: myself or my readers.

Oh, and can I just say that the DP pairing term "Amethyst Ocean" is incredibly trite?

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

The next morning, Paulina awoke and instantly felt the humidity in the air. She turned her head slightly to look out her window. The sky was dark and cloudy. She could tell it was going to be a cold day.

She sighed and turned her head back on her pillow to look up blankly at the ceiling. _I hope it doesn't rain tonight. Rain always ruins a party, _she thought, _The party…maybe the ghost boy will be there this time_. The weather would've normally caused her to enter a state of depression, but the thought of Danny Phantom maybe being at Dash's party that night lifted her spirits.

She looked at her digital clock. "10 A.M.," she said out loud, "Dash's party is at seven tonight. I better start getting ready." She threw off her covers, stepped into her fuzzy pink bunny slippers by the side of her bed, and blew a kiss to the picture of Danny Phantom on her wall before running to her bathroom.

-DP-

Danny, Sam, and Tucker decided to go the mall together that day. As the three explored the stores together, Tucker noticed that Danny and Sam were acting differently around each other.

_Did they confess their feelings for each other last night?_ he silently asked himself as he observed Sam blush when Danny held up an outfit he thought she'd look great in.

"You really think so?" asked Sam as she took the purple and black attire from Danny.

"Yeah, I mean, it seems like something you would wear anyway," said Danny.

Tucker would've let this continue, but his growling stomach was too much to ignore. "Okay, we've been shopping for Sam for, like, ever now. Can we get something to eat?"

Danny rolled his eyes, but he smiled and put the outfit back where he found it. "Okay, okay. We'll go."

He and Tucker started to leave, but Sam stayed behind. She debated something in her head before finally making a decision. She called to her two friends, "Hey, I'll meet you guys later, okay? Save me a spot."

Danny shrugged. "Okay. See you there, then."

Tucker flashed Sam a toothy, knowing grin before walking away with Danny. Once they were out of sight, Sam picked up the outfit Danny had presented her. She looked over the black, form-fitting shirt with purple designs twisting in mystifying directions up the long sleeves and along the back. The tight black mini skirt with silver chains matched it well. _And I have some boots to go with this at home, _she thought to herself.

She looked at the price tag and sucked in a sharp breath. "Wow, talk about _expensive_," she muttered, "Fortunately, I'm rich."

She walked up to the front desk and purchased the apparel. Clutching the bag with her newly acquired clothes to her chest, she ventured to the food court where her two friends were waiting for her.

-DP-

Danny sat with Tucker with a glazed look in his bright blue eyes, picking up a French fry every so often and putting it into his mouth. Tucker stared at his best friend, wondering what he was thinking.

"Dude, are you okay?" asked Tucker finally.

Danny blinked and focused his gaze on Tucker. "Hmm, what?"

"You looked possessed or something," said the techno geek, taking a bite of his hamburger.

Danny sighed and swirled a fry around in some ketchup. He said, somewhat distantly, "It's Sam."

Tucker waited for him to continue. When he didn't, he said, a bit impatiently, "What about Sam?"

"I don't know. I can't stop thinking about her. I mean, she's been looking really pretty lately, don't you think? Even more so than Paulina," said Danny, forgetting his fry which was now soaked with ketchup for the moment.

"Sam's _always_ been pretty, Danny," Tucker said.

"Well, yeah, I know, but…" Danny couldn't find the right words.

Tucker looked at his friend in silence for a moment. He had known that Danny and Sam liked each other for a while now, and while Sam had finally seemed to grasp the feeling, Danny still seemed blind to it. Tucker said with a smile, "Why don't you tell her how you feel?"

"Ah, she'll probably laugh at me or…something. Besides, I'm not exactly sure what I'm feeling toward her is real, you know? I mean, I still like Paulina, and then there's Valerie, too." Danny shook his head, feeling himself turn hot.

Tucker was about to say something else when someone caught his attention. "Hey, speaking of Valerie—"

"Hey, Tucker. Hey, Danny," said a pretty, well-built African-American girl. She came up behind Danny.

The halfa turned around to look at her, his pulse quickening. "Hi, Valerie!"

Valerie moved beside Danny so that he could see her easier. She looked at his face and asked, "Danny, are you okay? Your face is all red."

Danny chuckled. "I'm fine. Just a little hot, that's all."

Tucker put on his best smile. "So, what brings you to our table?"

"I just wanted to talk," replied Valerie, "I'm so excited for tonight."

"Why?" asked Danny.

"I heard that the ghost kid is going to be at Dash's party," Valerie said, a scheming look in her eyes.

Danny's eyes widened in panic for just a moment before they snapped back to normal. Danny asked, a bit nervously, "Oh, where did you hear that?"

"Where did who hear what?" asked a different female voice. The three looked to see Sam coming up to them, clutching a bag in her left hand. She took an empty seat between Tucker and Danny.

"Sam, you're here!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Good observation," said Sam sarcastically, "Now, what were you guys talking about?"

"The ghost kid. He's going to be at Dash's party tonight," informed Valerie.

"Ah." The Goth gave Danny an I-told-you-so look. "Well, it's just a rumor, right?"

"Well, yeah. I guess there's no guarantee, but I'm thinking that it might be true," said Valerie, a twinkle in her eye. She didn't want to say too much because, as far as she knew, the three friends had no idea about her ghost-hunting activities. She looked at her watch. "Well, I better get going. I have to…do something. I'll see you guys later." She waved and briskly walked away.

"I'm guessing she's going to get her ghost-hunting stuff ready," said Sam with a smirk.

"Ah, great. What am I going to do?" asked Danny, cradling his forehead in his hands and moaning quietly.

"How about you don't go?" suggested Sam.

Danny bit his lip. "Well…"

"Ah, come on, Danny! The possible danger would be kind of fun, don't you think?" said Tucker. Sam elbowed him in the side, causing the boy to yelp.

"Paulina _is_ expecting me to be there," said Danny, contemplating, "I guess I'll still go. I'll just have to be extra careful."

Sam rolled her eyes and stood. "Sure, Danny. Good plan. I'm going to go get something to eat." She walked away.

"She's so difficult sometimes," muttered Danny.

Tucker picked up the bag by her seat. "I wonder what she bought."

"Tuck, you can't go through Sam's—whoa!" Danny stopped mid-sentence when he saw Tucker take out the outfit he had shown to Sam earlier.

"Wow, she actually bought this!" said Tucker breathlessly.

"I-I can't believe it!" Danny's mouth hung open in shock. He was secretly very pleased. Something inside of him stirred…

"Man, she'd look _hot_ in this," Tucker said, a goofy look on his face.

"She would…" Danny could imagine her in the outfit, the clothing hugging her form, accenting her curves. "She's great, isn't she, Tuck?" Her eyes…her mien…her tongue…her body against his… The halfa shuddered. "Ah, I shouldn't be thinking about my best friend like that!"

"Whoa, you're thinking about me _how?_" asked Tucker, shocked.

"Not you!" Danny snapped, amazed at the boy's stupidity, "My best _female_ friend, of course!"

"Right, right…" Tucker shook his head. He then looked up. "She's coming back!" He quickly stuffed the clothes back into the bag and put it on the floor beside Sam's seat.

Sam sat down with her food. "That was fast," said Danny.

"Well, all I got was salad," the Goth said, squirting some dressing onto her vegetarian meal. She was about to take a bite when she noticed Danny looking at her dreamily. "What?" she asked.

"Oh." Danny snapped out of his reverie. "Uh, nothing. Sorry."

Sam studied him for a moment before softly smiling.


	6. 6

**Author's Note: **Oh, man. I got a really long review, and it scared me when I first looked at it for some reason. I didn't know if it was good or bad! Fortunately, it was good.

Someone asked if I'm _sure_ I like Danny/Paulina. I've never actually said I was into that pairing. To be honest, I'm not really into any pairing. I'm very open-minded about who Danny could be with...mostly because he's only 14. So, that's why there was all that Danny/Sam stuff in the previous chapters. Being young, he still is battling with his emotions. I imagine he won't find his true love until he's in college or something, and I highly doubt it will be anyone he knows in high school, including Sam. But, to answer the question, yes. I do, in fact, like Danny/Paulina. If you disagree, that's totally your opinion. Just don't bash my story based on your hatred for this pairing. But hey, if Danny/Dash can exist, I don't see why Danny/Paulina can't, especially since Paulina is a heck of lot nicer than Dash.

Well, I've decided to upload twice a week now for two reasons. One, people seem to want me to. Two, I'm far enough in the story to where I can update more often. So,Sundays and Wednesdaysnow.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

"Thanks for the ride, Papa," said Paulina, giving her father a kiss on the cheek before getting out of the car.

"No problem, sweetheart," her father said in a gruff yet loving voice, "And if any boy gives you trouble—"

"Oh, Papa, don't worry about me," assured Paulina, standing outside and holding the car door open, "I'm a big girl now."

"You'll always be my little girl," her father said, sighing at the thought of past memories.

"Of course, Papa. Pick me up at midnight tonight, okay?" Paulina waved good-bye and closed the car door. She started walking to Dash's front entry when she noticed all of the vans already parked outside. "Wow, why are all of these people here?" she asked out loud.

At Dash's door, she knocked and waited. The blonde jock opened the door and smiled when he saw her. "Paulina, you look great!" he complimented.

"Oh, you think so?" giggled Paulina. She already knew that she looked stunning, but hearing it from other people made her feel wonderful. She was wearing a long, sparkling, light blue sleeveless dress with high heels of the same color. She had pulled her hair back with a light blue clip.

"Yeah, but it's weird seeing you wear blue," Dash said as he took her hand and led her in, "You usually wear pink."

Paulina shrugged. "I know. I felt like being different tonight." She followed Dash into the living room.

"So, the party doesn't start for half an hour, and nobody is actually going to start showing up until around eight. What do you want to do?" asked Dash.

"Why are all of those vans parked out front?" Paulina asked, ignoring his question.

Dash drew a blank before remembering. "Oh, yeah. Since it got around that Danny Phantom might be at my party, a bunch of news people and ghost hunters came over. I guess there won't be any alcohol tonight."

"Hmm, that's too bad," Paulina said, "Do you think the ghost boy will really come?"

"Wow, obsess much?" laughed Dash, "Is he all you ever think about?"

"Pretty much, yeah," replied Paulina, finally sitting down on the living room couch.

Dash sat down next to her. "Ah, what does that ghost kid have that I don't?"

"Do you want me to write a list?" asked Paulina, only half-joking.

Dash chuckled. "I see how it is." He checked his watch. "I should get ready. You just stay here, okay?"

"I hate waiting," sighed the brunette.

"Why do you always come early to my parties, then?" asked Dash, standing up.

"I don't know. I just get really excited, I guess," responded Paulina with a shrug.

"Ah, yes. Excited thinking about—" Dash then imitated Paulina's accent, "—_the ghost boy!_"

"Hey, are you making fun of me?" demanded Paulina angrily.

"Maybe just a little," the blonde said, amused. He winked and walked out of the room.

Paulina watched him leave, then turned to look out the window. Outside, she could see reporters, cameramen, and ghost hunters setting up equipment for the night. _All of those people might scare the ghost boy away_, she thought, _I hope he still comes…even just to see me…_

-DP-

"Oh, man…look at all of the news people and ghost hunters!" moaned Danny as he hid behind some trees with Tucker and Sam. Dash's party was already in full swing in his large backyard. Reporters and ghost catchers were spread out in the crowd, waiting for a glimpse of Danny Phantom. He could see his parents standing together holding big guns, looking alert and tense.

"I told you, Danny," Sam said with a smirk, "Hey, why don't we do something at my place?"

"Ooh, yeah! Let's play with your state-of-the-art virtual reality game!" Tucker cheered.

"No, I don't want to let Paulina down," said Danny firmly. He could see the pretty Latina chatting with a group of boys. Every so often, she would look around, then, with just a hint of disappointment in her eyes, she refocused her attention on the boys around her. "She hasn't danced with anyone at all yet…" the halfa observed.

"So?" asked Sam indifferently.

"Well, she told me she wanted her first dance to be with _me_," Danny informed.

"Fine, go then! Get caught! I don't care!" yelled Sam, anger burning in her violet eyes.

"Danny, is dancing with Paulina worth the risk of getting captured?" questioned Tucker. He was starting to feel nervous about the whole thing.

Danny thought for a moment before replying, "I guess not…" He sighed. "Maybe we should...go."

He was about to leave when he noticed Paulina get up and walk away. Some boys tried to follow her, but she forcefully pushed them away. Danny noticed the disconsolate look on her face. She walked into Dash's house.

"What's she doing?" murmured Danny.

"Who?" asked Tucker.

"Paulina," Danny answered, "She…she left the party!"

"She probably just went inside to fix her hair or something," said Sam bitterly, "Can we go now?"

"No, she seemed kind of sad," said Danny.

Sam huffed in frustration. "Danny, you're really—"

"Look!" interrupted Tucker. He pointed to the roof. Sam and Danny looked up to see a darkened figure walking along the top of Dash's house.

"It's Paulina!" gasped Danny. He ran to the front of the house, away from the party so he could better see the young girl getting situated. He watched her sit down, pulling her dress down to cover her legs. She hugged her knees and stared up at the sky forlornly.

"She's so _pathetic_," said Sam.

"She's so _beautiful_," said Danny, his mouth open in awe. He could feel his pulse accelerate, his temperature rising…

Sam scrutinized him for a few quiet moments before giving in. "Go see her, Danny."

Danny blinked and eyed Sam warily. "What? Really?"

Sam shrugged and said in a shaky voice, "Yeah, sure. She's waiting for you." She swallowed and continued, "We'll be right here…if you need us to cover for you or something."

Danny could see the sad surrender in her eyes. For a moment, his desire to be with Paulina faded. All he wanted was to be with Sam…

Tucker clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Go, man."

Danny nodded. He quickly scanned the area, making sure no one was watching. "I'm going ghost!" he cried as loudly as he dared. Two glowing rings encompassed him. They moved apart to reveal his ghost self. He looked up at Paulina. "Well, here goes..." He flew up to meet her. Sam punched the nearest tree.


	7. 7

**Author's Note: **Oh, man...this chapter...I can't believe I wrote about something that I have no actual interest in! It was so weird. Also, yes, I included song lyrics. I wasn't going to originally because it's just lame, really. I wasn't even going to mention the song. I wouldn't _dream_ of doing something like this for a real, original work of mine, but then this song came on while I was writing this chapter, and...I just couldn't help myself! I was like, "Whatever. It's just a fanfic." Feel free to just skip over the lyrics since...that's what I usually do when I come to parts in stories like that(I feel like such a _hypocrite_). Just know that I didn't blindly choose this song. If anyone cares to notice, some of the lyrics are actually kind of appropriate.

These chapters preceding the wish _are_ important, just in case anyone's wondering why the story hasn't gotten to the point yet. This chapter, especially, is important. Even as I finish writing chapter 21, it still has value.

Romance is for the weak-minded. That said, please enjoy this next part.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Paulina looked up at the sky longingly. She could hear the blaring music from the backyard. She had tried to enjoy herself at Dash's party, but she was too anxious for the ghost boy's arrival. An hour had passed since Dash's party picked up, and there was still no sign of him. Finally, a bit depressed, she excused herself from the company of the boys she was with, wanting to be alone.

She arched her back, enjoying the pleasant cracking feeling moving up her spine. She had been to Dash's house many times, and the blonde jock had once shown her how to get on the roof. Paulina was glad she still remembered the stairs that were hidden behind an almost invisible door in Dash's attic, leading the way to the roof. Paulina had moved to the front of the house so that no one in the backyard would see her.

_It doesn't look like the ghost boy is going to show up_, thought Paulina, _Well, perhaps there will be another time_.

Her shoes were starting to hurt her feet. She took them off and set them aside, wiggling her toes.

"Mind if I join you?" asked a young, male voice behind her. Paulina stiffened, afraid that Dash or some other boy had found her. Hesitantly, she turned around and was shocked to see Danny Phantom standing a couple of feet away from her.

"You came!" squealed Paulina. Forgetting her shoes, she jumped up and ran to him, her arms stretched out. She embraced him. "I was beginning to think—I mean, well—"

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," said Danny, feeling a blush rise to his cheeks.

Paulina pulled back. She looked into his brilliant green eyes and smiled broadly. Danny returned the smile. Seeing her look at him like that made him feel hard and soft at the same time.

"I can't stay long," the ghost said sadly.

"Oh, well, that's okay," said Paulina shyly, "Will you dance with me for just one song at least?"

Danny nodded. "Of course."

"Um, well…" Paulina bit her lip. "We'll just wait for the next song, then." The two waited for a moment, listening to the music that was loudly playing. The next song that started playing was a fast-paced number.

"Oh, can we wait for a slow song?" pleaded Paulina.

Danny chuckled. "Sure."

Paulina felt a wave of relief flow through her. She could be with the ghost boy even longer now. It struck her just then that she knew almost nothing about him. She cleared her throat and asked, "So, do you know Danny Fenton?"

Danny was taken aback for a moment. "Who?"

"Danny Fenton. You always seem to appear wherever he is. Your names are even the same," said Paulina.

"Oh, yes. I do know him, actually," said Danny, "He's really cool."

"You must know him pretty well if you think he's cool," deducted Paulina.

"I do know him fairly well," Danny said. Perhaps Paulina would stop thinking his human-self was such a loser now…

"Does he know you?" asked Paulina, trying to sound casual.

"Well, yeah. I guess he does," said Danny with a small shrug.

The two talked for a while, sharing things about themselves. Danny was careful to not tell the brunette too much or too revealing information. Finally, in the backyard, they could hear a slow song starting.

Paulina gasped with delight and said breathlessly, "Oh, I love this song! It's—"

"'As the World Falls Down,'" finished Danny thoughtfully.

Paulina nodded in admiration. "Yeah, that's right. By David Bowie. How did you know that?"

"_Labyrinth_ used to be one of Sam's favorite movies," replied Danny, recalling the film the song was from. He clapped his hand to his mouth in horror when he realized what he just said.

"Sam?" Paulina raised a brow.

"A friend of mine," Danny said, trying to cover up, "He's a ghost, too."

"He?" Paulina nodded slowly. Danny was relieved to see that she accepted the story.

The two could hear the lyrics to the song begin, "_There's such a sad love deep in your eyes…_"

He held out his hand to her. "May I have this dance?"

"_A kind of pale jewel opened and closed within you eyes…"_

Paulina smiled and interlaced the fingers of her right hand with the ones of his left. She placed her other hand on his shoulder while he placed his on her waist.

"_I'll place the sky within your eyes…_"

The two started to dance, but somewhat awkwardly. Paulina looked down at the roof they were dancing on.

_"There's such a fooled heart beating so fast…_"

"It's hard to dance on this slanted roof," observed Paulina.

"_In search of new dreams, a love that will last within your heart…_"

"Oh, well, then…" said Danny. He gently lifted her up into the air with him, a couple of inches off the roof.

_"I'll place the moon within your heart…_"

Paulina gasped and held to the ghost boy tighter. She felt herself start to spin around with him. She looked up into his eyes.

_"As the pain sweeps through…makes no sense for you…_"

"I've got you, don't worry," assured Danny. Paulina smiled and leaned against him, sighing deeply.

"_Every thrill has gone…wasn't too much fun at all…_"

"I told Dash to put this on the playlist for tonight," said Paulina.

"_But I'll be there for you…_"

"You did?" Danny twirled Paulina around a bit faster.

_"As the world falls down…falling…" _

"Yes, but he had never heard of it before," Paulina said.

_"As the world falls down…It's falling…" _

"Well, it's not a very well-known song," said Danny.

_"Falling in love…_"

"That's true…" Paulina practically whispered. She moved in closer to the white-haired boy. "Are we getting higher?"

_"I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you Valentine evenings…_"

"Oh, does it bother you?" asked Danny, a bit sheepishly.

"_Though we're strangers till now, we're choosing the path between the stars…_"

"No." Paulina blushed. "I was just wondering."

_"I'll lay my love between the stars…_"

The couple said nothing for a while, but it was a comfortable silence. They danced in the air, turning about each other.

_"As the pain sweeps through…makes no sense for you… _

_Every thrill has gone…wasn't too much fun at all… _

_But I'll be there for you… _

_As the world falls down…falling… _

_As the world falls down…It's falling…falling… _

_As the world falls down…falling…falling…falling… _

_Falling in love… _

_As the world falls down…falling…falling…falling… _

_Falling in love… _

_As the world falls down…falling…falling…falling…_"

"This is the happiest, most magical moment of my life…" whispered Paulina.

_"Makes no sense at all… _

_Makes no sense to fall…falling…_"

"Oh, right," said Danny, a bit uncomfortably.

_"As the world falls down…falling…falling…_"

Paulina was a bit disappointed. She had hoped the ghost boy would feel that this was the most wonderful moment for him, too.

_"Falling in love…_"

"Ghost boy…Danny…can you do something for me?" asked Paulina, her voice low.

_"As the world falls down…falling…_"

"Sure. What do you want me to do?" asked the halfa. He loved the way she said his name so endearingly.

_"Falling…_"

Paulina lifted her head. "Kiss me…"

_"Falling in love…_"

This stunned the boy. He didn't expect this to happen.

_"Falling in love…_"

Her eyes were closed…She looked so beautiful in the moonlight…Her lips came closer to his…

_"Falling in love…_"

His breathing became strangely irregular. All thoughts of Sam, Valerie, or any other girl faded. It was just him and Paulina now…

_"Falling in love…_"

He leaned into her, still holding her securely around the waist as they continued to float in the air.

_"Falling in love…_"

They were interrupted by a chorus of screams below them. Danny landed them back on the roof. They gave each other puzzled looks, then moved to the edge and peered down.

What they saw almost made Danny faint. The news reporters and ghost hunters were below them along with the guests from Dash's party.

"No, don't stop! Keep going!" a female reporter yelled up to them, microphone in hand.

The ghost hunters pointed their guns at him. Danny flinched. He saw Tucker and Sam looking up at him helplessly.

"No, you promised you wouldn't shoot him until we got some footage of him!" a male reporter pleaded.

"Play another slow song!" a different reporter demanded.

"How long do you think they've…been there?" asked Danny, feeling weak all of a sudden.

"I don't know," Paulina said truthfully.

"Hey, who is that up there with him?" the female reporter from before asked.

"That's Paulina!" a bunch of guys cried in unison.

"Paulina." Danny grabbed her shoulders tightly. "I have to go. Right now."

"You're not going anywhere, ghost!"

Danny and Paulina whipped their heads around at the sound of the voice. There, hovering in the air a few feet away from them on a black jet sled, was a feminine figure in a red suit holding a huge gun pointed directly at Danny.

"Valerie!" gasped Danny. He could actually see her face with the new suit she received from Technus. He held onto Paulina tighter.

"Stay away from her!" Valerie screamed. She fired at Danny. The ghost broke away from Paulina, the blast barely missing him.

Valerie's eyes burned with anger. "I've got you now, ghost!"

Even though she could see Valerie's face, Paulina still didn't recognize her. The Hispanic girl moved in front of Danny. "No! What are you doing?"

"Step aside, girl," Valerie ordered, "This ghost has cost me too much trouble."

Paulina refused to move. "I won't let you hurt him!"

Danny was afraid that Valerie would harm Paulina, too. He grabbed the brunette around the waist and, making both of them intangible, went down through the roof into Dash's house. Paulina, who felt like she was falling, screamed. They landed on the floor.

"Okay, I really have to go now. I'm sorry," said Danny hurriedly. He flew through a wall and out of the house. Paulina watched him leave sadly, remembering the kiss that they almost had.


	8. 8

**Author's Note:** I was expecting a lot of people to say that the last chapter was too much Danny/Paulina and how they hate Paulina and blah, blah, blah, but I actually got some positive responses and someone even wants Danny and Paulina to pair up now. 

Someone also said that Paulina is a fangirl, and yes, I knew that! It's totally true! I mean, I was thinking about the differences between Sam and Paulina. Sam is in love with Danny. Paulina has a crush on Danny. Sam is secretive about her feelings. Paulina is open about it. Sam has sincere intentions. Paulina is just a capricious girl obsessed with a ghost boy. I paid attention to Paulina in Lucky in Love, Memory Blank, and Doctor's Disorders and decided from those episodes how Paulina would act if she was alone with Danny Phantom.

Paulina _will _make the wish soon. I'm sorry it's taking so long. I was originally going togo right into it, but then I realized there were some things that I had to develop first, so...yeah.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Danny could hear the shouts behind him as he flew away. He landed and moved behind a tree where he changed back. He leaned against the wood of the tree and put a hand to his heaving chest. He slid down to the ground, breathing heavily. _That was too close…Oh, Sam was right. It was too risky,_ he thought bitterly.

After a few moments, he felt ready to go back and meet Sam and Tucker, who were no doubt worried about him. He walked back to Dash's house and was not at all surprised to see that everyone was still there, including his parents, who looked upset.

"Danny!" He heard Tucker's voice. His two best friends ran up and embraced him.

Sam was flustered as she spoke, "Danny, we're so sorry! We just—they just came all of a sudden. Someone—some _idiot_—thought he saw something on the roof, and—it just happened so fast—we couldn't stop them—"

"Sam, it's okay. It doesn't matter now," Danny assured. He gently broke away from his friends.

Sam looked down at the ground. "I was so afraid. Valerie flew away to find you when you disappeared."

"Well, no doubt you're going to be in the paper," Tucker said, "Along with Paulina."

Sam turned her head away so Danny wouldn't see the jealousy flash in her eyes. She remembered looking up at Danny and Paulina, watching them dancing in the air. She remembered the sensation of her blood boiling when she saw Paulina and Danny lean into each other for a kiss…

_And they almost got it,_ Sam thought to herself, remembering how she had caused the two to break apart before their lips could touch. She had dropped a small, black spider that she had found on the ground down the dress of a red-haired girl, causing her to scream and the friends she was with to scream as well.

Danny looked around at the frantic people. He could see his parents getting into the Fenton RV. "Well, I guess we should go," he said quietly.

The three friends walked away from the party, and when they could no longer see Dash's house, Sam, trying to hide the hope in her voice, asked, "So, I guess this means you're over Paulina now, right?"

Danny looked at her quizzically. "Hmm?"

"Well, you know…you were saying that you just wanted one dance with Paulina, and that you knew she wasn't the right one for you," Sam said, trying to refresh his memory.

Danny slowly nodded. "Right…" His eyes went blank, remembering his dance with the girl he had had a crush on for so long now...

Tucker snapped his fingers several times in front of his friend's face and yelled, "Danny! Hello!"

Danny came back to reality. "Oh, sorry."

"So, no more Paulina, right?" Sam smiled uneasily.

"Well…" Danny guiltily massaged the back of his neck. "I don't know."

"_You don't know?_" Sam cried.

"It's just…when we were together…it just seemed right," said Danny, losing himself in his memories of being with Paulina.

Sam felt like decking him, but she wasn't sure if it was anger or jealousy that drove the feeling.

Tucker noticed Sam's reaction and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Danny was too busy daydreaming to notice anything.

-DP-

After Danny Phantom left her, Paulina had stood in the hallway, not sure what to do. When a group of news reporters and cameras suddenly came in through the front door, Paulina had sprinted to Dash's room and locked the door. She didn't feel like answering any questions about her encounter with the ghost boy on the roof.

She busied herself by looking around Dash's room. She stopped when she came across the stuffed teddy bears in his closet, too disturbed to continue. She then turned on Dash's computer and surfed around on the internet, but she couldn't keep her mind on the task for very long. She eventually decided to just listen to Dash's music he had stored on his hard drive.

A couple of hours later, the noise outside seemed to die. Paulina looked out Dash's window to see that everyone was leaving. She turned off the computer and checked the digital clock on Dash's dresser. Her father wouldn't come to pick her up for another fifteen minutes.

The doorknob started jiggling. Paulina was frightened, wondering if someone found out where she was. She then heard Dash's voice cursing.

She quickly unlocked the door to reveal the jock, who looked exhausted. He was startled when he saw her in his room. "Paulina! What are you doing here?"

Paulina moved aside to let Dash in. "I just didn't want anyone to find me, so I hid in here. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, it's cool," said Dash, secretly pleased to have her with him in his room. "So, your dad coming soon?"

"He'll be here at midnight," answered Paulina.

"Okay," said Dash, glancing at his clock. He took her hand and led her to his bed where they both sat down. He asked with a devious grin, "What do you want to do until then?"

"Dash, I've already given my heart to someone else, so don't even try," Paulina said.

Dash's voice took on a different, darker tone. "Right. Danny Phantom."

"Oh, stop it, Dash. No need to be jealous," teased Paulina.

Dash rolled his eyes. "I'm not jealous, it's just…why are you in love with a _ghost_?"

"He seems more human to me," said Paulina wistfully.

"Yeah, but he's _not _human." Dash put an arm around her waist. "He couldn't _possibly_ give you what _I _could give you."

Paulina wriggled out of his grasp. "Wow, you really _are_ jealous of him."

"I am not! It's just—"

"My shoes!" Paulina interjected. She looked up, as if she could see through the ceiling. "They're still on the roof!"

"You left your shoes on the roof?" asked Dash, bewildered. He stood. "I'll go get them."

"I'll go with you," said Paulina, also standing.

The two popular kids went up to the roof, and after searching for a couple of seconds, Paulina was able to locate her shoes.

"They may not be comfortable, but they're very stylish," said Paulina with pride, replacing the shoes on her feet.

"Girls and their shoes." Dash chuckled. He moved up next to Paulina and stared at her. Even in the pale, dim light of the moon, she looked dazzling.

Paulina turned to look at him as well. The blonde boy was very handsome, it was true, but he didn't give her the same, magical feeling that the ghost boy gave her.

They heard a vehicle pull up into Dash's driveway. Paulina was relieved to see her father's car. "Well, Dash, I better be going."

"I'll walk you out," said Dash despondently. He led her down the roof, out his front door, and to her father's car. He watched the car drive away until he could no longer see it.


	9. 9

**Author's Note: **Someone mentioned the chapters getting shorter. Well, I find that weird since chapter 7 is longer than any of the other chapters, and chapter 8 is the third longest chapter. And, actually, this isn't really a _chapter_ story. I mean, I say chapters, but they're not _really_ chapters. They're just parts of the story. This story is too short to really be divided into chapters(it's only going to be about 30,000 words), so I just divide it into parts of about 1000 words and upload them.

Oh, and the random static electricity thing...well, when I wrote this chapter, we were learning about static and stuff in physics, so I was kind of thinking about that.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

"Page four. Can you believe it? You guys didn't even make the front page," said Tucker, a bit annoyed.

He was looking at a copy of the local newspaper. While the event happened on Saturday, not much was mentioned in the Sunday paper about the ghost kid being on the Baxter roof with a girl. A big article about it was published in the Monday paper instead. However, a news special covering the incident aired Sunday evening, and Danny was forced to sit through the whole newscast, listening to his parents ramble on about how they were so close to finally catching him. Jazz kept smiling and winking at him knowingly, humming something that sounded suspiciously like, "We know something they don't know!"

"It's not like it's really big news or anything, Tuck," said Danny, leaning against the row of lockers.

"_Paulina's_ sure getting a lot of attention," said Sam as she watched the Hispanic girl walk by with a crowd of students around her asking questions. Paulina only smiled and flipped her hair over her shoulders.

"Yeah…" said Danny languorously. He couldn't help but stare at Paulina. He had even dreamt about her the past two nights.

Sam wanted to smack him. Before she could yell at him, the dark-haired boy suddenly tensed, apprehension showing on his face. He whispered nervously, "Oh, man! She's looking at me!"

Sam and Tucker turned to see that Paulina was indeed eyeing their friend. She seemed thoughtful for a moment, then she put on her best, most seductive smile and started walking towards him.

Danny's eyes widened. "Oh, man! She's coming this way! Quick, how do I look?" He turned to his best friends, worried.

"You have some stray hairs," said Tucker, pointing to the top of Danny's head. Danny frantically tried to fix his hair.

Sam grabbed his arm. "Danny, you look _fine_, and if Paulina doesn't approve of a few stray hairs, well, that just proves how much of a shallow bi—"

"Danny, hi!" said Paulina sweetly. She walked up to Danny, ignoring Sam and Tucker.

"Oh, uh, hi," said Danny. He already felt awkward. He tried to smile naturally, but he knew that it looked forced. "So, I see you made the paper, and you were on T.V. last night."

Paulina nodded. "That's right." She moved in closer to Danny. "Listen, can we have lunch together outside? Just the two of us?"

The bell rang just then. Sam wanted to strangle Paulina, but Tucker held her back. Danny tried to look cool, but it was hard for him to contain his excitement. He said in a higher pitch than he intended, "Yeah, sure. That'd be great."

Paulina chuckled. "Well, see you then, Danny." She blew him a kiss and walked away. Danny watched her leave in a trance, then slapped his forehead when she was out of sight.

"I feel like such a _moron_," he groaned.

"Ah, don't feel bad, Danny. You were okay," said Tucker. His eye twitched as he added, "Sort of."

"It felt so natural on Saturday," Danny said, "I feel so nervous when I'm around her as Danny Fenton for some reason, but when I'm Danny Phantom, it's like…I already know that she likes me, so it's okay."

Sam rolled her eyes and threw up her hands, clearly frustrated. "Yeah, okay. Whatever. Let's just go to class."

The three started walking together. Danny was already counting down the minutes to lunch.

-DP-

Paulina sat at her desk and drew sketches of the ghost boy on some notebook paper where she should've been writing down notes. She could hear whispers around her. Every so often, she would catch her name.

_Everyone's talking about me_, she thought, _That's because they're all jealous._

She looked up from her drawing. She could see Danny Fenton a few seats in front of her. The first thing she noticed were the stray hairs on the top of his head moving about in all directions, charged with static electricity.

_Wow, that bothers me for some reason_, thought Paulina with a frown, _I hope his hair isn't like that at lunch._

A small smile replaced her frown. She couldn't wait for lunch. She was going to charm Danny into telling her more about the ghost boy.

_And I _know_ he knows the ghost boy. Why, the ghost boy told me _himself_ that Danny knows him._ Paulina glanced at the clock. She wished time would move faster.

Finally, the bell rang. Paulina stood and collected her things. She then walked by Danny and waved to him. "Meet me outside, okay?" she said melodically.

Danny nodded. "Okay."

Paulina grinned and walked out into the hall, but not before seeing the heated look on Sam's face. She chuckled quietly. She loved making Sam jealous.

A hand grabbed her shoulder and forcefully whirled her around. Paulina looked up into the eyes of Dash Baxter. He asked her angrily, "What's this I hear about you eating lunch with Fenton?"

"Well, I think it's obvious," said Paulina dryly, "I'm eating lunch with Danny today."

"Why? You shouldn't be hanging out with losers!" exclaimed Dash.

Paulina calmly took Dash's hand off of her shoulder. "I'm just doing this for today. He knows the ghost boy."

Dash's eyes hardened. "Man, you really are _obsessed_ with him. Fine. I don't care." Dash quickly walked away. Paulina didn't bother to watch him leave. She turned around and continued on her way.

-DP-

"I hope I don't blow this," said Danny as he started to walk out of the classroom. Paulina had just told him to meet her outside, and his insides were already churning.

Tucker said assuredly, "Don't worry, man. You'll be—"

"Ow!" yelped Danny. He shook out his hand.

"What?" asked Sam, concerned.

"I reached out for the door handle to hold the door open, and it shocked me," replied Danny. The three ventured into the hall.

"Well, your hair's all back in place now," said Tucker with a small laugh.

"Anyway, Danny, your stupid lunch with Paulina…" said Sam, getting them back on topic, "She probably just wants something from you."

Danny shook his head and smiled. "Sam, don't worry about me."

The three walked into the cafeteria. Danny bought his lunch, said a hurried good-bye to his friends, then ran outside to meet Paulina.

Sam and Tucker sat down at their usual table. Tucker started eating heartily, but the Goth girl hadn't even bothered to buy a lunch. She was too incensed to eat.

"Hey, geeks!" Dash said as he walked up to the two.

Sam didn't look up. She asked, irritated, "What?"

"Tell your loser friend that if I catch him hanging around Paulina ever again after this, I'm going to break his neck." The blonde jock was animated with rage.

"Feeling violent today, huh?" said Sam, completely indifferent.

"You know, people die from broken necks," Tucker said stupidly. Sam shot him a death glare.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm going to _kill_ him if he even gets _near_ Paulina," informed Dash seriously, "So tell him that."

"Sure thing," said Sam, still apathetic, still not looking at him. Dash, a little confused by her reaction, walked back to his table.

Sam looked at her technology-loving friend. "Tucker?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot." Sam laid her head down on the table.


	10. 10

**Author's Note: **This chapter is weird. Yes, Paulina's obsession is kind of creepy. I don't know if this is how she would actually act if she really, really, _really_ wanted to know more about Danny Phantom, but I'm kind of guessing she would think up crazy, strange schemes like this.

The reference to Secret Weapons in the last part wasn't meant to make fun of Jazz or anything. She was actually just kind of teasing Danny. (You know, a big sister sees her little brother dancing with some girl she knows he likes, and she knows it's him, but her parents have no idea.)

Paulina makes the wish in the next part. Chapter 12 is when it gets fun, though.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Danny gripped his lunch tightly as he looked around for Paulina. He finally spotted her sitting beneath the shade of her favorite tree. Her back was to him. She was holding up a pocket mirror, observing her features. Danny could see her mouth in the mirror, the lips that he had almost kissed just two nights before, and in that instant, he didn't feel so well. He could feel a horrible, sickening sensation in his stomach.

He moaned and promptly threw his lunch away in a nearby trash can. He suddenly didn't feel like eating.

"I don't think I can do this…" he muttered, clutching his stomach. He took a couple of deep breaths and straightened up. "Well, here goes."

-DP-

"Paulina!"

Paulina hastily stashed her pocket mirror into her bag at the sound of her name. She turned around quickly to see Danny running up to her.

Paulina sharply inhaled. _Wow, he's cute._ She shook her head violently. _No, I can't think of any other boys like that. The ghost boy is the only one for me._

Danny sat down next to her and smiled nervously. "Hi."

"Did you already eat or something?" asked Paulina.

"Oh." Danny remembered the lunch he had thrown away. "I'm not really that hungry today."

"Danny, you can't skip meals," said Paulina, trying to sound like she cared, "Why, just looking at you…you look like you weigh nothing at all!"

Danny wasn't sure exactly how to respond. "Uh…okay."

Paulina sighed, reached into her bag, and pulled out half of her sandwich. She held it out to him. "Here. Eat this."

Danny looked at the deli sandwich in her hand. On any other day, it would've looked really good, but at the moment, it made him feel even weaker. He politely declined, "No thanks. I'm really not hungry."

Paulina persisted. "Danny, you don't need to be on a diet. I mean, what, are you anorexic or something?"

Danny looked at her, bewildered, his left eyebrow up. Paulina went on, "Listen, I went through an anorexic stage last year, and it really wasn't fun. So, just eat this. For me."

Danny gave in and received the sandwich from her. He took a small bite and forced himself to swallow it. His stomach twisted itself in more knots.

"I want you to eat that whole thing, got it?" said Paulina in an authoritative tone.

Danny couldn't stop himself from laughing. "Wow, if I didn't know you better, I would think you actually cared about me."

Paulina dropped her jaw and put a hand to her chest in mock astonishment. "What exactly does that mean?"

Danny gave her a sly grin and said, "Come on, Paulina. Why would a popular, beautiful girl like you be concerned about a shy, pathetic loser like me?"

Paulina was speechless for a couple of seconds. It was true that she didn't actually care about the boy…at all, but she didn't want him to think that. He'd never tell her what she wanted to know if he thought that. She placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Danny, you're not a loser, and I really do care about you. Honest."

Danny didn't believe her, but he decided to just go with it. "Okay, then." He took another bite of the sandwich.

Satisfied, Paulina pulled back from him and stared at him fondly. _He has an adorable smile… _Paulina forced the thought to the back of her head. _Ghost boy! Ghost boy! I love the ghost boy! _

Danny felt a rush run through him. The way Paulina was looking at him sparked some hope inside of him.

"So, Danny," Paulina began, trying to sound casual but knowing she was failing horribly, "Do you know the ghost boy, Danny Phantom?"

The dark-haired boy was about to take another bite of the sandwich, but stopped and lowered it. He realized then the reason that Paulina wanted to have lunch with him. He sadly looked at the ground, then back at her. He said, "Well, I know _of_ him."

Paulina said, trying to mask her impatience, "Well, it's just, at Dash's party, he said that he knew you, and that you knew him."

"Did he?" asked Danny, trying to remember when he had said that. He vaguely recalled Paulina asking him about the relationship between Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton, and then it hit him. He quietly growled, remembering that, before their dance, he had indeed told Paulina that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom knew each other.

"Yes, he did," confirmed Paulina.

"Well…" Danny took a bite of the sandwich, taking his time chewing and swallowing to buy some time, knowing he had to lie. Finally, he said, "Well, I don't actually _know_ him. I mean, we've kind of talked, but—"

"Danny, please." She pouted as cutely as she could. She leaned in closer to him and said, "I know you know about him. Please, tell me…"

She kept coming closer to him. At Dash's party on the roof, Danny had felt inclined to move toward her as well, but this time didn't feel the same. He subconsciously leaned away and said, "Paulina, I really…I can't…"

"Yes, you can, Danny…" Paulina practically whispered. She was very close to him now.

"I—" Danny was interrupted by the pretty Hispanic girl forcefully pulling him into a kiss. Danny was too shocked to do anything.

Paulina put a hand on the back of his neck. Danny tried to move, but he couldn't. His mind was racing. _I've waited so long for this moment…I almost got it on Saturday…Why am I not enjoying this?_

He quickly regained control of his body when he felt Paulina's tongue slip inside his mouth. He abruptly pushed her away and stood, dropping the half-eaten sandwich on the ground. Paulina looked up at him in wonder. He said breathlessly, "I'm sorry, Paulina. I—I have to go."

Before Paulina could protest, Danny was running away from her. She watched him dash into the school. Angrily, she took the sandwich he had dropped and threw it as hard as she could at the tree.


	11. 11 The Wish

**Author's Note: **Well, at least there's _one_ other person who likes Danny/Paulina. I don't support the pairing myself or anything, but I do like it. I mean, it just seems credible, you know? Danny/Sam and Danny/Paulina both seem believable to me. Danny/Valerie, however, seems forced and unrealistic. I just don't buy into it at all. I'd go with Danny/Ashley before Danny/Valerie. (You know, Ashley, that girl in Beauty Marked?) Not saying I don't like the pairing, it just isn't all that..._natural. _(This is all my opinion, of course. Feel free to disagree, just don't yell at me about it.) 

I considered using Desiree in this chapter, but after thinking it over...I mean, Paulina makes a wish and Desiree just _happens_ to be right there and hears it? How convenient! What an incredibly well-planned coincidence! I just couldn't get it to work, so I made up a ghost. Yes, I know. I'm lame.

Oh, man, that was a long build up. Well, several of the events that happened earlier play a key part later on. You can probably guess which ones.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

After school, Danny started to walk home without waiting for Tucker and Sam. He didn't want them asking him about his lunch with Paulina.

"Danny, wait up!" a voice called behind him. Danny started to walk quicker, recognizing Tucker's call.

His friends started to run and eventually caught up to him. "Hey, didn't you hear me?" asked Tucker.

"Oh, uh, sorry," said Danny distantly.

Sam moved to the other side of the halfa so that he was between herself and Tucker. She asked cautiously, "Danny, you've been kind of avoiding us ever since lunch. Did something happen with Paulina?"

"No, nothing happened. Don't worry about it," Danny said too quickly for it to be believable.

"Danny, don't do this. We're your best friends. You can tell us anything," Sam said with an amiable smile.

Danny gave in. He knew he couldn't keep it secret from the two people he cared the most about. "She's only interested in my ghost side. She only wanted to have lunch with me so that she could try and get me to tell her about Danny Phantom." He decided to not tell them about the kiss.

"Oh, Danny…I'm so sorry," Sam said genuinely. She then added with a small grin, "Well, I can't help but say…I told you so."

"Don't rub it in, Sam," Danny said, vexed.

"So, uh…are you over Paulina now?" asked Tucker, glancing at Sam.

"Maybe," replied Danny. Sam looked at the ground.

For the rest of the way to their homes, the three talked of many things, but Danny could really only think about Paulina.

_Why can't I just get over her? I really want to, but then again…_ He remembered how right it had felt when he was with her on Dash's roof, how natural it seemed when they were about to kiss. _And it would've been a real kiss_, thought Danny, _Not one like today._

"By the way, Danny…" Tucker began.

"What?" asked Danny, only hazily interested in what his African-American friend had to say.

"Dash said that if he ever caught you with Paulina again, he'll kill you," finished Tucker.

Danny was only stunned for a moment, then he put a hand to his forehead and laughed.

-DP-

Late that night, Paulina was lying on her bed, thinking over the day's events. She wondered what had gone wrong with Danny. She was so sure she would be able to get him to tell her what she wanted to know. After all, it was obvious he had a crush on her. She had thought that by playing around with his emotions, Danny would be willing to do anything for her.

She remembered their kiss…well, her kiss anyway. Danny seemed to actually resist her.

_I do wish he had joined in…Ah, no! Not again! Quit thinking about him like that, Paulina! _She covered her face with her hands, then lowered them again. _Why have I been having these feelings about Danny lately? I never used to… _

She turned over on her side. She gazed at her Danny Phantom picture. _I wonder if his friends know about the ghost boy…Sam and…whatever his name is. Well, I'm _positive_ Sam wouldn't tell me anything, but maybe I could get that tech geek to talk._ She wrinkled her nose. _No, actually, I don't think I could. I've seen the way he acts around pretty girls. He'd be too distracted by my looks, I'm sure, and he's so proud. _

_But Danny would probably tell Sam about the ghost boy if _she_ asked_, said a voice in the back of her mind. Paulina sighed. She wished that she could trade places with Sam just long enough to learn more about Danny Phantom. _Not that I'd _want_ to be that Goth loser_, she thought, _but I'll do anything to find out more about him_.

She turned only her head to look out her window. It was a clear, starry night. She spotted a big, twinkling star. Excited, she ran to the window and opened it. She leaned out into the cool, night air. She looked longingly at the star.

She was too old to believe in magic, she knew that, but she couldn't help but have hope in the seemingly impossible. She had made many wishes on many different stars. None of them had come true, but perhaps this time would be different…

Something flying in the sky caught her attention. Paulina gasped with delight, realizing that it was the ghost boy, soaring above the city. Her heart started pounding. She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. _I wish that I could trade places with Sam so that I can learn more about the one I love._ She inhaled deeply, but when she opened her eyes, the ghost boy was gone.

-DP-

That night, Paulina dreamt…

_She was in school. A crowd of boys was swarming around her, complimenting her and expressing their adoration for her. Paulina saw Danny and Sam nearby. She wondered briefly where their other dorky friend was. She moved up to them. Danny smiled at her. Sam scowled and shot her a look of odium. _

_"Sam, you're an ugly freak," said Paulina. Everyone around her cheered. Feeling confident, she went on, "Why would anyone want to be your friend? Why would _Danny_ want to be your friend? Does he just feel sorry for you? Just do the world a favor and kill yourself." _

_There, she had done it. She finally had power over the Goth girl. Sam's face fell. She turned to Danny for comfort, but he merely shoved her into a row of lockers and said, "It's true, Sam." He walked up to Paulina and took her hands in his. "Paulina is the prettiest, most perfect girl in school." He then said roguishly, "I'll do anything you want." _

_The boys around her cried the same thing. Paulina laughed. _All boys are mine to control…

_"Sorry, but I only want Danny right now," said Paulina. She'd probably be able to get some information about the ghost boy out of him now. She could see Sam crying as she ran away down the hall. Then, everything started to change… _

_The school hallway and students faded into nothing. Paulina looked around. All she could see was blackness, but there must've been light coming from somewhere. She could still see herself, her hands as she reached out for anything, something. A girl, who seemed to be about her age, appeared in front of her. Her shoulder-length auburn hair was limp and uncombed, tangled and windswept. She wore faded jeans and a ripped shirt. Her eyes were narrowed with either boredom or indifference. Her whole form glowed with white light. _

_Paulina was very confused. The girl walked up to her, arms crossed. As she came closer, Paulina noticed the alien bluish tint to her skin. The strange girl said, "This is a dream, Paulina, but this encounter is real." _

_"What are you talking about?" asked Paulina, still puzzled. _

_"My name is Delphine," said the girl, "I'm actually a ghost." _

_"Like the ghost boy? So you're, like, a ghost girl?" asked Paulina. _

_"Wow, you're dumb," said Delphine. She unfolded her arms. "I am able to hear the desires of all people, and I have the power to grant them." Delphine smirked. "Unlike Desiree, though, I can choose what wishes I want to grant and to what extent." _

_"Who's Desiree?" asked Paulina. _

_"Not important," said Delphine, "Anyway, I have heard your wish, and I have decided to grant it." _

_Paulina responded with a breathless squeal. "Really? Are you serious?" _

_Delphine nodded. "When you wake up, you'll have traded lives with Samantha Manson. When you want to trade back, you need only wish again." _

_Paulina could barely contain her excitement. "Oh, wow! But…will Sam know?" _

_Delphine rolled her eyes and shook her head, as if the answer was obvious. "Sam won't know. She'll be you." The ghost started walking away. Paulina could hear her snickering. "I hope you'll learn a lesson from this,_" _she called over her shoulder._

_"What do you mean?" asked Paulina as everything started to lighten. The hallway and students reappeared. Paulina was facing Danny again. She smiled and said, "Soon, Danny, you'll tell me everything I want to know."_


	12. 12

**Author's Note: **I forgot to mention before that I hated the last chapter. I wrote it back in either late February or early March, and I remember struggling with it. I didn't know how to go about Paulina making the wish and some random ghost granting it for her. How was I going to make something so corny as a wish to switch places with someone, well, not corny? I knew I wasn't _that _good of a writer, so I realized that I'd just have to settle on something lame...like a dream. I'm glad this is just a fanfic. Otherwise, I'd have killed myself.

Anyway, now, with this part, it's gets fun! It might be a little different than what some of you expected, but trust me, I had good reason for it. I'll explain it at the end if you're wondering.

Oh, and I didn't know how to explain Sam's house or the way it's run at all. I looked at Parental Bonding, Attack of the Killer Garage Sale, What YouWant, Life Lessons,and Control Freaks, but they all showed different things each time. The biggest thing was that in AotKG, the front door leads to...I don't remember where, but definitely not the kitchen like it does in Control Freaks. I didn't put too much detail into Sam's room and house so as not to draw a lot of attention to it because I had no idea what I was really talking about.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Paulina opened her eyes with a little difficulty the following morning as her alarm clock blared. She reached over to her nightstand, turned it off, and let her head sink back into her pillow. "Mmm…Danny…" she moaned.

She bolted into a sitting position. "I mean Danny Phantom, of course! Not that loser…"

She spoke in her own voice. She looked around. It was her own room. She jumped out of bed and ran to her vanity, looking into her mirror. Her eyes. Her hair. Her body. She was still Paulina.

"But…that girl…Delphine…she said that when I woke up, I'd be Sam," whispered Paulina, perplexed.

She stared at herself, her eyes slowly hardening. "I'm so stupid. It was just a dream. I'm too quick to believe…I'm so _gullible_…"

There was a knock at her door followed by a middle-aged feminine voice that called, "Pollykins!"

Paulina stared at the door, and in that instant, everything changed. The room darkened, grew, spun. Paulina fell to the floor from shock and dizziness. Her vision clouded, then cleared. She slowly stood and looked around.

_Is this…Sam's room? It's huge!_ It was melancholic and black, with deep violet walls. A king-sized black canopy bed with red covers was in the middle of it all. Posters of dark, Gothic bands and singers decorated the walls.

She looked at herself in the mirror, but to her surprise, she was still herself, Paulina, instead of Sam like she expected. The only difference she saw was that she was wearing a black nightgown. _I guess the wish _did _work! _

"Paulina? Are you awake?" the annoying voice on the other side of the door called again.

"Oh, yes!" Paulina called. _That must be…Sam's mother? _

"Really?" Sam's mother said, almost as if she didn't believe it. She opened the door and stepped in. Paulina never would've guessed that she and Sam were related. The woman had short red hair, bluish-green eyes, and was wearing an expensive-looking pink dress. Paulina also noted the luxurious jewelry she wore.

"Usually, I have to get you up myself!" the woman said. She walked to the wide window by the bed and threw open the red curtains. The sunlight streamed in. Paulina, unprepared, squinted and shielded her eyes with her left arm.

"Oh, Paulina, I know you hate the bright light, but it's good for you! Too much darkness is just unhealthy," said Sam's mother. She left the room, instructing Paulina to hurry and come downstairs.

The Hispanic girl was bewildered. She opened the nearest door to find a huge, yet dark bathroom. _Sam has her own bathroom? No way!_ She quickly showered and wrapped herself in black towels.

Back in Sam's room, she located a big walk-in closet. Lining the walls were black, Gothic clothes hanging on hangers or folded on built-in shelves. She rummaged through the clothes, hoping to find even just a little color. _Sam really has no taste in clothes,_ she thought, finally deciding to just deal with the dull choices she had. She grudgingly dressed. _Maybe I'll just go to the mall later and buy some outfits. I don't think I can stand looking so horrible, even if I _am _supposed to be Sam!_

_But…I'm not really Sam…_ She walked to Sam's dressing table and sat down. In the mirror, she saw herself, Paulina, in Goth clothes. _I'm still me. Shouldn't I have Sam's body?_ She shrugged. _I guess I like it this way anyway. I'm still beautiful._

She looked at the make-up on the table. All she saw was dark, gloomy colors. Eyeliners, lipsticks, mascara, body glitter…all either black or purple. She sighed and disgustedly applied some. In one of Sam's drawers, she managed to find a dark purple barrette and carefully placed it in her hair. She found a full-length mirror by the table and observed herself.

_I look like a freak,_ she decided. She looked around for some shoes and spotted a pair of black combat boots by the door. She shook her head at the sight of them.

-DP-

As she walked—well, more like clomped with her big, heavy combat boots—around Sam's house, Paulina noticed one very unexpected thing.

Samantha Manson was rich. Filthy rich.

Paulina was awed by the vastness of the house, the extravagance of the possessions placed throughout. _How could Sam be this wealthy and, at the same time, the geek that she is?_

She tried to locate where Sam's mother was, but she felt like she was just going in circles. Finally, she saw a lighted room. She could hear voices as well.

She approached the room and found that it was a kitchen. Paulina saw, sitting at the table in the middle of the room, Sam's mother and a man who she guessed was Sam's father. He had slick blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a thin figure. She looked first at Sam's mother, then at her father. _I don't see Sam's resemblance to either of them. Maybe she's adopted? _

"Pamela, this coffee is really hot," said Sam's father.

"Oh, don't complain," said Sam's mother, "You whine too much, Jeremy."

"Hi," said Paulina, sitting down at the table beside Sam's father.

"Hey, sunshine!" greeted Jeremy. "Isn't it a beautiful day?"

Paulina looked out the window. "I guess so."

"Wait, you do?" Jeremy seemed surprised.

Pamela set a bowl of cereal before Paulina. "If you're wondering where your grandmother is, she said she wasn't feeling that well."

"Oh," said Paulina, not caring in the slightest.

Pamela smiled and sat down next to her, "You should hurry and eat, sweetheart. Your friends will be here soon."

"Yeah, you took your time getting ready today," Jeremy teased.

Paulina took a bite of the cereal and swallowed. "I don't feel like going to school with Dash and Star today."

"Dash and Star?" Pamela frowned.

"Whatever happened to Danny and Tucker?" asked Jeremy.

Paulina blinked, then jerked her head. "Oh, yeah. That's what I meant. Danny and Tucker. Dash and Star are just some…other friends of mine."

"Other friends? That's nice. I'd like to meet them, because I do think you can do better than those boys, Paulina," said Pamela, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I _know_ I can," Paulina muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

The doorbell rang just then. Paulina stood. "Uh, I'll get it." Abandoning her half-eaten breakfast, she ran to the door and threw it open.

There stood two boys that were considered losers by just about everyone in the school. Paulina met their looks of familiarity with a blank stare. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Danny cleared his throat and said timidly, "Paulina? Are you ready? Jazz volunteered to drive us today." He motioned to a pink Beetle parked along the road. A girl with red hair was sitting in the driver's seat. She waved.

Paulina tried to move. Her body would not obey her mind.

Danny and Tucker exchanged baffled glances. They backed away. "Okay, then…see you at school," said Danny as he started to leave with Tucker.

"No, wait…I'm coming," said Paulina, her muscles starting to work again. She called to her parents, "Bye, Mama, Papa! I'm leaving!" Out of habit, she had called them what she called her own parents, not knowing what Sam called them. She found a purple, spider-shaped back-pack hanging on a rack by the door and grabbed it. She followed the two boys to the street, closing the front door behind her.

"You feeling okay?" asked Danny, concerned.

"Yeah, you seem kind of out it," said Tucker. The three climbed into Jazz's car with Danny in the passenger's seat and Tucker and Paulina in the back.

"Oh, I'm fine. It's just morning," replied Paulina as convincingly as she could.

Jazz shifted gears and started the drive to school. Paulina observed the red-head. _Danny's sister…I remember her…she was at Ember's concert…_

"I don't know, Paulina. You just don't seem yourself this morning. I mean, you actually said 'good-bye' to your parents," said Tucker.

"Are you under stress or something, Paulina?" asked Jazz, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Ah, Jazz. Don't psychoanalyze her or whatever you do that makes people uncomfortable," said Danny, turning his head to look at his sister. Paulina was in the seat right behind him, so she could really only see the top of his hair over the headrest.

"Seatbelt, Danny," said Jazz. Danny huffed. Paulina could see his hand reach for the belt and pull it across him. He fastened it securely.

"You two better have your seatbelts on as well." Jazz glanced at her rearview mirror to look at Tucker and Paulina in the back.

"Oh…" Paulina quickly put her seatbelt on as well. Tucker was already wearing his. Paulina looked out the window. She still had no idea what was going on. She wasn't sure how to assess the situation. She was still Paulina, that was for sure, but everything else was different.

Jazz pulled up to Casper High, and the three freshmen hopped out. Jazz then drove away to the student parking lot.

"So, you sure you're okay?" Danny placed a hand on her shoulder. The act of familiarity from him felt strange to Paulina. Danny and Tucker…they were her best friends now.

"Yes, don't worry. I'm fine," said Paulina. The three walked into the school. Tucker engaged Danny in a conversation about some new feature on his PDA. Paulina let her thoughts drift. _Delphine…she said I'd trade _lives_ with Sam. Does that mean that Sam is popular now?_

They arrived at Danny's locker. Paulina looked at the boy in wonder. _Well, maybe now he'll tell me about the ghost boy_. It was then that Danny's arm went through his locker.

Paulina's jaw dropped. Danny pulled his arm back out, but it was now carrying a school book. Paulina didn't blink. She didn't move. She simply stared in wonder and confusion at Danny's arm.

"Paulina, hello?" Tucker waved a hand in front of her face.

Paulina snapped out of her trance and cried, "His arm! Danny, your arm!"

Danny raised a brow. "What? What about my arm?"

"It just—I mean—it went _through_ the locker!" Paulina gasped.

Danny and Tucker stared at her. "There is definitely something wrong with her today," said Tucker to Danny.

"Ah…nevermind," said Paulina, shaking her head. _They must think I'm crazy._

A dark-haired girl wearing a pink top and blue jeans strolled past just then. A swarm of boys were close behind her. Danny smiled and said pensively, "Sam…she looks so beautiful today, don't you think?"

"Wasn't it just yesterday that you said that you were over her?" asked Tucker.

"I said _maybe_, Tuck," replied Danny.

Paulina watched Sam intently. She looked the same except she was wearing brighter colors, and she was smiling and flirting with all of the boys around her. "Why would you be interested in that freak?" asked Paulina. It was then that she realized that that was actually her, Paulina. _I just insulted myself!_

"Paulina, I know you don't like her very much, and you have good reason to, but that one night…when I was with her…it was amazing. Magical, even," explained Danny.

_What one night? I don't remember ever spending a night with him._ Paulina smiled impishly. _Maybe I should, though. Now that I'm Sam…I might be able to…Ah, what am I thinking?_

"Er, what night was that?" asked Paulina, though she had a feeling that Sam already knew. Still, she was curious, so she took the risk.

"Uh, Paulina? You were there, remember?" Tucker said.

Paulina winced. "Oh, uh…yes. I remember now." _So, what? Danny and I were together some night? And Sam was there, too? _She put a hand to her forehead. _Why don't I remember this? _

"Do you have a headache or something?" asked Danny.

The bell rang. Paulina shook her head, "Oh, no. I'm fine. We better get to class." She started walking away.

"Paulina!" called Tucker, "Where are you going?"

Paulina turned around, "To Science."

"Why? Our first class is Home Ec.." said Tucker.

Paulina blinked. _Oh, right. I'm Sam now._ She smiled awkwardly, "Sorry, I forgot." She rejoined the two boys. As they started to walk away, Paulina looked at Sam one last time, who was opening her locker.

_No, wait…that's _my _locker._ Paulina caught a glimpse of the familiar shrine to Danny Phantom in the locker. _That must mean that Sam's locker is now mine. Great, I don't know the combination to it._ She saw Star greet Sam and pull her away.

_I can't believe I'm hanging out with _losers _while Sam is hanging out with the cool kids!_ Paulina sighed. _Oh, well. It's just until I find out more about the ghost boy._

"Paulina? Are you absolutely positive that you are alright?" Danny looked at her closely.

"I'm fine. Really," said Paulina, but she knew that her "best friends" didn't believe her.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Yes, so Sam and Paulina have switched lives, not minds. I wondered about just having them totally switch, but I didn't want Sam to know. Otherwise, I'd have to do some things from her point of view, and that just wouldn't work. If Sam knew, she'd for sure go up to Danny and say, "Hey, it's me, Sam! Something strange happened!" Nope, that would just ruin everything. So, Sam had to just completely be Paulina. But, if they just switched minds, then Paulina would still have her own mind in Sam's body, of course. She would be conscious of the switch, but Sam wouldn't, so she'd have Paulina's thoughts in Paulina's body...so, then, where would Sam have gone? Would she just be lost in Paulina's body somewhere? And, would I call her Sam or Paulina? I couldn't call her Paulina, obviously, but calling her Sam also wouldn't be right. It just couldn't work that way. I decided to just have them trade lives and not bodies/minds/whatever.

Okay, sorry if that wasn't really all that clear, but it makes sense to me.


	13. 13

**Author's Note: **Well, only one reviewer seemed to be confused by my explanation at the end of the last part, so yay! People get it! I was kind of afraid people would hate me for doing it that way, but there was no way around it without completely changing the focus of the story. If Sam knew, it would kind of be more about her trying to figure out a way to get them to change back, and then Paulina probably wouldn't realize anything, and, well, in the end, the story probably wouldn't even _have _a point. I take everything into careful consideration. Oh, and I was actually kind of thinking about that one Spongebob episode when I thought of the idea for this story.

Someone asked if Sam and Paulina would be adopted in this story since they're of different races, so their parents after the switch aren't the same as them. Well, they just traded lives, so even if it doesn't make sense, Sam would be the "natural" child of Paulina's parents at the moment, but I'm kind of wondering if Sam was adopted in the first place since she really doesn't have any of her parents' traits, so Paulina could be an adopted child after the switch. Then again, maybe Sam really has blonde or red hair and just wears a wig. I mean, how could there be so many wigs that look _exactly_ like her hair? She owns at least a couple of them, too. So, I don't really know.

You know that ring in Flirting with Disaster? I suppose that Paulina would've read it upside-down as "euilned."

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Paulina found that she couldn't concentrate on anything the entire morning. Her wish had truly come true. It seemed strange to her. She wanted to ask Danny about the ghost boy every moment she was with him, but something inside of her kept silencing her questions before they could be uttered. She just didn't know what to make of anything. She sat in Sam's seats in all of Sam's classes. While it made sense, it was still hard for her to grasp the odd reality of it all.

"Paulina?"

The Latina jumped at the sound of her name. She looked up to meet Danny's light blue eyes. Tucker was beside him, fiddling around with his PDA.

Danny shifted his weight. He looked uncomfortable. "Didn't you hear the bell ring?"

Paulina looked at the clock, but she couldn't get her eyes to focus correctly. "Did it?"

"Yeah, are you going deaf?" asked Tucker with an amiable, teasing smile.

"Paulina, you really don't look that well…" said Danny seriously. He opposed Tucker's banter with a true, caring tone.

Paulina blinked and inattentively picked up her school supplies. Her other friends never showed such concern for her. Of all the times she had really been ill with either physical or mental maladies, none of her popular friends ever said anything or even seemed to really notice. It was different to hear the boy that she had always ridiculed before look at or talk to her like that.

Danny gently took her arm and pulled her out of her seat. "Come on. They're serving sloppy joes today! Not that you'd care, but they make me happy."

Paulina allowed Danny to lead her out of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Tucker's lips curl into a secretive smile.

-DP-

Paulina had never tried sloppy joes before. They had always looked incredibly fattening to her. After one bite, she wondered how she had survived so long without them.

"This is really good!" exclaimed Paulina, her mouth still full, not worrying about manners at the moment. She figured that as long as she was sitting with losers, it was okay to act like a loser.

"Paulina, what are you doing?" yelled Danny, "You're a vegetarian!" He stole the burger from her.

Paulina quickly snatched it back. "Not today!" _I'm not going to let Sam's stupid thing against meat deprive me of this delicious…whatever it is. _

"Paulina, come on! How can you just turn your back like that on something I know you strongly believe in?" asked Danny. He seemed almost offended.

Paulina shrugged and took another bite of the burger. "I don't really care about that right now. All that matters to me at the moment is that this tastes great!"

"See? Meat is good, and it heightens the senses," said Tucker matter-of-factly.

"Paulina, you must be sick. You _have_ to be sick. I mean, you're eating _meat_…" Danny shook his head.

Shrill cries and hoots sounded from a nearby table. The three looked to see a boy with brown hair on the floor, his tray of food splattered all over his face and shirt. The popular kids were laughing. It looked as if one of them—most likely Dash—had tripped him. Sam's chortle was particularly loud and obnoxious.

"Wow, she even laughs like a loser," said Paulina. _Ah, I insulted myself again!_ she thought.

Danny breathed deeply. "She sure is pretty, though." Paulina took that as a compliment for herself and inwardly beamed with vanity.

"So, you're really not over her, huh? Yesterday, it sounded like your lunch with her didn't go that well," said Tucker.

Danny shrugged casually, but Paulina could see the sadness in his eyes. "She's just obsessed with Danny Phantom. It's just so weird that she likes _him_ but not _me_," said Danny.

"Why would that be weird?" questioned Paulina, her mouth full with more meat. She swallowed the bite.

Danny and Tucker stared at her, both clearly puzzled. Danny opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when Sam suddenly appeared next to him.

"Hey, Danny," greeted Sam, an unfamiliar, seductive smile on her face. Her eyes reflected desire and ulterior motives.

_Wow, is that what I look like?_ thought Paulina. Sam always looked kind of scary to her, but this time, she actually appeared _sinister_.

Sam sat down next to Danny and said, "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday. I really don't know what came over me."

Danny blushed. Tucker asked, "What are you talking about?"

Paulina realized then that Sam was talking about the kiss she herself had forced on Danny the day before.

Sam grinned cheekily at Paulina and said, "Oh, Danny didn't tell you?"

"Ah, Sam…not now," pleaded Danny. Paulina only blinked.

"What? What didn't Danny tell us?" Tucker was impatient.

Sam snickered and said, "Oh, it was _amazing_, Paulina. Danny tasted _so_ good."

Danny's head sunk lower. Paulina merely shrugged and said, "You're telling me this…why?"

Sam's jaw dropped slightly. She obviously didn't expect Paulina to react like that. "Well, I mean, ah…Danny! And me! We kissed!"

"Okay, whatever. I don't care," said Paulina. _Sam's trying to make me jealous…like the way I love making _her_ jealous. _

Sam's frown stayed in place for only a moment before she replaced it with another smile. "Well, you don't care because you know that you don't have a chance with him anyway. He could never fall for an ugly slut like you."

Paulina huffed, taken aback. "Who are you calling a slut?"

"Paulina, don't start…" beseeched Danny.

"Wow, you're not too bright, are you?" Sam stood, ran a quick hand through Danny's hair in a possessive manner, and walked away to rejoin the popular kids.

Paulina was shocked. _Am I really that mean?_ She looked at Danny, who had his head in his hands.

"Dude, you okay?" asked Tucker.

Danny looked up and said defensively, "Okay, just so you know, Paulina, _she _kissed _me_. I didn't do anything."

"Danny, it's okay. You sound as if you think I'm going to attack you," said Paulina.

"You mean…you aren't?" asked Danny. He looked confused.

"No, it's fine. I don't care," said Paulina truthfully.

"_I _care, though," said a voice next to them. The three looked up to see a tall blonde towering over them.

"Dash!" gasped Tucker.

"Did you guys tell Fenton how I feel about him being around Sam?" asked Dash menacingly.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" asked Paulina before she could stop herself.

Dash turned cold eyes on her. Paulina subconsciously shrank away. She had never seen him look at her that way before. The blonde jock went on, "I said that Fenton would be sorry if I ever caught him with Sam again. Did you geeks tell him that?"

"Well, yes—" Tucker began, but that was all that Dash wanted to hear. He abruptly grabbed the front of Danny's shirt, pulled him up, and growled, "You're gonna get it, Fenton. I'm giving you one last chance. Stay _away_ from Sam." He threw the smaller boy roughly back into the table and stomped away.

Danny's eyes were wide with fright. "Hey, man, you okay?" asked Tucker.

Danny slowly nodded and sat back down on the bench. Tucker said, "I _did_ tell you, actually, but you just laughed."

For a moment, Paulina actually felt sorry for Danny. She looked back at the table of popular kids. She saw Dash reclaim his seat next to Sam. _He's _that_ protective of me?_ She shook her head as the bell rang for the end of the school's first lunch.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

I won't be able to update at all next week because I'm going to be gone. I know, I'm lame, and I know I'm lame for using the word 'lame' so often. I'm just lame like that.


	14. 14

**Author's Note: **I'm leaving tomorrow, but I didn't want to be la—er, uncool, so yup, I'm updating today. But seriously, nothing next week.

I just want to say again that this story is _not_ split into chapters. They're just parts that go together like ramma lamma lamma ka dinga da dinga dong. They're short because it makes it easy to edit them and fix continuity errors. Plus, I can get ahead with other things so that my updates are always on time. Chapters are supposed to have at least one plot point, you see, and this next part doesn't exactly have a plot point. It just helps further develop Paulina's perspective of things and sets the scene for the next part. It's just a supporting section.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

The rest of the day was just as confusing for Paulina. Everyone treated her differently. The boys ignored her and the girls made offensive comments about her that were just loud enough for her to hear. Danny and Tucker were the only two people that paid any real attention to her. In class, they made jokes about their teachers that actually made her laugh, unlike Dash who never said anything truly funny. She saw new sides of the two boys, specifically Danny. She never knew he was so much fun to be around.

In English, Paulina sat behind Danny. Tucker was on Danny's left. Paulina could see Sam and Dash sitting next to each other out of the corner of her eye. Sam was applying some lipstick while Dash was scribbling something on a sheet of paper.

Paulina was tempted to pull out her own make-up and mirror as well, but she resisted the urge. She knew Sam, the Goth geek, would never do that. Danny and Tucker were in front of her, though. They probably wouldn't notice if she fixed up a couple of things. Maybe…it would be okay if she just…

Paulina reached into her bag slowly. _I'll just make sure my make-up is okay. Even if it is horribly Goth, I don't want it be messed-up or anything._ She grasped her mirror and was just about to pull it out when something zipped by her left ear and hit Danny in the back of his head, hard. He yelped loudly. The object fell to the floor next to him.

The entire class turned to look at Danny. Tucker frowned. Rubbing the spot where he was hit, Danny bent and picked up the item. Paulina moved her head to get a better look. It appeared to be some paper wrapped around something small.

"Mr. Fenton?" said a passive yet aggressive voice. Mr. Lancer stood next to him, his eyes narrowed. Danny kept the object out of view as Mr. Lancer said, "I'd appreciate it if you'd pay attention and not disrupt my class. I'm afraid I'm going to have to give you detention."

"But—I—Okay. Sorry," said Danny, defeated. Mr. Lancer scowled at him before moving back to the front of the class.

Paulina turned her head slightly. She saw Dash and Sam trying to suppress their laughter. Paulina couldn't help but chuckle as well. She covered her mouth with her hands in an attempt to hide it.

By the way Danny was moving, Paulina could see that he was looking at the sheet of paper that Dash had thrown at him. _I know it was Dash,_ thought Paulina, _I saw him scrawling on some paper earlier… _

Paulina saw the tips of Danny's ears redden. Tucker moved over to glance at it. Paulina tried to get a look at it as well, but she was not in a good position to do so. Sighing, she decided to wait until school was out for the day.

-DP-

When the final bell rang, Paulina followed Tucker and Danny out the classroom door. She was walking beside them when she suddenly found herself face-down on the floor.

Danny and Tucker immediately helped her up while the other students in the hall shrieked with laughter.

Paulina allowed the two boys to pull her to her feet and brushed her hair out of her face. Sam stood before her with her posse of popular kids. "Nice one, loser." Laughing, she strolled away. The other kids taunted Paulina before dispersing.

"Sam tripped you," Tucker explained. The three started walking again.

"I'm so sorry, Paulina," said Danny, acting as if the ordeal was his fault, "She really can be nice, though…when she wants to be…" Danny rubbed the back of his head.

"Does it still hurt?" asked Paulina, deciding to not let Sam's behavior get to her.

"Does what still hurt?" asked Danny. He quickly put his hand down.

"You know what I'm talking about. What did he hit you with, anyway?" Paulina eyed Danny's right pocket. She saw Danny put the paper in there after he had looked at it.

"Oh. That." Danny shrugged. "It was just a stupid drawing."

"Wait, did you see who hit him?" asked Tucker.

"Yeah, it was Dash," said Paulina. She held out her hand to Danny. "Let me see it."

Reluctantly, Danny reached into his pocket and pulled out the sheet. He put it into her hand. "It was wrapped around a rock, and Dash has a really strong arm," said Danny, feeling the back of his head again.

Paulina gasped when she saw the picture. Dash was a terrible artist and had used stick figures, but the drawing still made her flinch. Dash had indicated which characters were which with arrows and names. Danny was on the ground, his eyes were two small crosses, his tongue was lolling out of his mouth. Dash had a foot on his chest, and Sam smiled up at the blonde jock. Dash had used red ink for blood, and Danny was covered in it.

"Wow, for stick figures, this is kind of graphic," said Paulina. She folded up the paper and threw it into the nearest trash receptacle.

Danny and Tucker halted. Paulina turned back to them. "What? Why did you guys stop?"

"This is your locker," said Tucker with a quick gesture.

"Oh, yeah." Paulina moved in front of the locker Tucker had pointed out. She remembered that she didn't know the combination. She turned around to face the two boys again. "You know, it's not like I took out or put anything in my locker today. We don't need to stop here."

Tucker shrugged. "Whatever." He quickly opened his locker, which was nearby, and put in his books. He then took out his back-pack and shut the locker door.

"I need to go to mine, though," said Danny. The teenagers ventured to Danny's locker where Paulina saw his arm go through the door once again.

"There! It happened again! Surely you saw it, Tucker!" cried Paulina, grabbing the techno geek's shoulders.

"What happened again?" asked Tucker, confused. Danny pulled on his back-pack and frowned.

"His arm! His arm, it—ah, forget it." Paulina shook her head.

Danny and Tucker raised brows. Paulina looked at Danny and suddenly remembered why she had wished to trade places with Sam in the first place. "Danny, there's something I want to ask you…"

She saw Tucker grin. Danny looked at her apologetically and said, "It's going to have to wait. Mr. Lancer gave me detention, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," replied Paulina, "It's not really fair, though. You didn't do anything."

Danny shrugged, but he was smiling. He quickly walked away.

When Danny was out of sight, Tucker said to Paulina, "Don't worry. Danny's starting to feel the same way."

He gave her a reassuring smile, but Paulina had no idea what he was talking about.


	15. 15

**Author's Note: **Wow, I just wasted a week of my life. I'm so glad to be back.

This story doesn't center on any one pairing. See, Danny obviously doesn't know what his true feelings are for anyone, so I'm just kind of going based on that. I'm not giving anything away about the end, either.

Less than two chapters to write, then I'll be done! Finally! I so want to start my next fic.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

At the front of the school near the street, Tucker invited Paulina to his house for the afternoon. Paulina was inclined to tell him no, to get lost. While it was true that her image of him was changing for the better, she still considered him a loser.

"Okay. Sounds like…fun," Paulina managed.

"Great! I can show you my new computer software!" Tucker said excitedly. Paulina groaned inwardly.

"Paulina! Tucker!" Jazz ran up to the two. "I can take you guys home. Where's Danny?"

"He has detention with Lancer," said Tucker.

"What? Again?" Jazz sighed. "What'd he do this time?"

"Nothing, actually," said Tucker.

"You don't get detention for doing nothing, Tucker." Jazz put her hands on her hips.

"It's true, though," said Paulina, "Someone hit him in the back of the head with a rock."

Jazz wrinkled her brow. "What?" She shrugged. "Okay. I don't get it, but whatever. Do you two want a ride home, then?"

"Just to my house. Paulina's coming over," said Tucker. He readjusted his glasses, which were beginning to slide down his nose.

"Okay, then. We'll go now. I guess Danny can just fly home later," said Jazz, checking her watch.

"Wait, he can _what?_" Paulina was sure she had misheard Danny's sister.

"He can fly," Jazz said, "Wait here. I'll bring my car around." The redhead ran off to the student parking lot.

"What is she talking about?" asked Paulina once Jazz was out of sight.

Tucker was playing around with the buttons on his PDA as he replied, "Her car. She's bringing it around to the front."

"No, I mean…the part about Danny flying?" Paulina tried again.

"Ah, Danny will be fine, Paulina. No need to worry about him flying alone. He does it all the time," said Tucker.

Paulina adjusted the strap on her bag and decided to drop the subject. She still had no idea what Tucker and Jazz were talking about, but she didn't want to cause any suspicion. _It's probably some sort of stupid secret code for something…stupid. _

Tucker started talking about a new game on his computer, but Paulina didn't pay any attention to him. She looked around. She could see Dash and Sam talking near a tree. Dash was in his football uniform while Sam was wearing a cheerleading outfit. She held her pom-poms in one hand and twirled a strand of hair around her finger on the other hand. It was odd to see Sam acting like that.

Two girls walked up to them. Paulina recognized them immediately as Valerie and Star.

"Hey, Valerie," said Tucker.

"Hey, Tucker. Hey, Paulina. Where's Danny?" asked Valerie.

Star rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Who cares about that loser?"

"Star, what are you doing? Why are you hanging out with Valerie? She's a loser, too! She's not cool anymore!" Paulina spoke rapidly. She was appalled at the thought of a popular kid befriending someone who was pretty low on the social ladder.

Valerie's eyes narrowed. Star yelled, "Don't you talk to _me _like that! You're a pathetic freak!"

Valerie took a fist and swung at Paulina's face. The Hispanic girl recoiled and held her swelling cheek.

"Some friend you have there, Foley," spat Valerie. Furiously, she marched away with Star running after her.

Tucker turned to Paulina in disbelief. "Where did _that_ come from?"

Paulina reddened. _I'm Sam now…I have to remember that!_ "I don't know. It just kind of slipped out. I have no idea what came over me." Her cheek still stung from the blow.

Tucker sighed and shook his head. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so," said Paulina.

"You've been acting so strangely today…" Tucker trailed off.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jazz finally pulled up to the curb where Tucker and Paulina were standing. Tucker climbed into the back seat. Paulina took the front seat so that she wouldn't have to be so close to him anymore.

"So, just your house, right? Tucker?" Jazz pulled out to the main street.

Paulina didn't hear Tucker's reply. She stared out the window and let the world outside blur.

-DP-

At Tucker's house, Mrs. Foley gave them a plate of cookies to snack on while they sat in his room and observed the new software on his computer.

"Isn't this the coolest thing ever?" asked Tucker, showing Paulina a program that she didn't understand.

"It seems kind of stupid to me," said Paulina, utterly bored. She took a bite of a cookie, not concerned about her weight for the moment.

"You just don't know what it is," Tucker teased. He switched off his computer and turned to face her. "Okay, you're obviously not interested. What do you want to do?"

Paulina thought for a moment. Perhaps, since she was Sam, she could ask Tucker if he knew anything about the ghost boy. "Tucker, what do you know about Danny Phantom?"

Tucker stared at her, confused. "What?"

"Danny Phantom? Who is he? What is he? Do you know?" asked Paulina.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Tucker's eyes narrowed with question.

"I don't know how I can be any clearer," said Paulina, frustrated.

"Well, okay, uh…He's a real hero…I think he's more human than ghost…but, you'd know better than I would. You're, like, the reason he exists," said Tucker.

"What are you talking about?" Paulina raised her arms, palms up.

"What are _you_ talking about?" Tucker shot back, "I don't know what you're asking. Are you worried he'll change someday? That his motives will change? I think he'll pull through for us, Paulina. He always has in the past."

"Would you quit being so cryptic and answer the question?" Paulina could feel herself grow hot with anger.

"How am I being cryptic?" demanded Tucker. "_You're_ the one asking the weird questions!"

"Oh, forget it," muttered Paulina. She indignantly folded her arms. She obviously wasn't going to get anywhere with him. "Listen, I don't feel very well. I think I should go home now."

Tucker rolled his eyes, but he stood and led her out. He called down the stairs, "Mom? Can you take Paulina home?"

"So soon?" his mother called back up.

"She doesn't feel well," Tucker explained.

Paulina gathered her stuff and followed Tucker downstairs. His mother was waiting with her car keys. "Paulina, are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"I'll be fine. I just need some sleep, I think," said Paulina. She felt tired all of sudden. It had been an overwhelming, perplexing day.

"Okay, then. Tucker, are you coming, too?" asked Mrs. Foley. She started heading out to the garage.

"No. I've got some homework to do," said Tucker. He didn't look at Paulina again. He simply turned and took the stairs back up to his room. Paulina didn't mind. She didn't want to look at him, either. She followed his mother out to her car.


	16. 16

**Author's Note:** Some of you _almost_ feel sorry for Paulina, huh? Yay! Maybe people will stop hating her so much! Seriously, I don't understand why so many people just want to _kill_ her. She's actually a really funny character, but she's dumb. She really is. She just can't put two and two together. Well, to be fair, none of the other characters can either.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

In Sam's room, Paulina stared blankly into the mirror on the dressing table. It was all strange, foreign. Everything made perfect sense, but at the same time, nothing made sense.

She had wiped off the ghastly dark make-up. It made her eyes sore just to look at it in the mirror, so she just did away with it all together. She was still wearing Gothic clothes, but that didn't bother her as much. She figured that she actually kind of looked good in black anyway.

Sam's bed was cluttered with pictures that she had been going through. Instead of pictures of her with other popular kids, she found photos of her with Danny and Tucker. There was one where they were at the park…one with them at an amusement park…another where they were eating at Nasty Burger… There were the pictures that were just weird, like the one with Danny and Tucker hugging, and another where they were in front of some sort of portal. Then, there were other pictures that confused Paulina…the ones with Danny Phantom.

_They must all know him, but how? I need to find out._ She cupped her face in her hands. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there looking at her reflection, thinking about Danny Phantom and how Tucker, Sam, and Danny fit in with him.

She wanted to be close to him again, to be in the arms of the boy she had fallen in love with. For some reason, it didn't matter to her that he was a ghost. She wondered if that was the reason she liked him so much in the first place.

Though lately, she had been having strange feelings about Danny Fenton. Whenever he looked at her, especially when he smiled, her heart would race. She'd feel a strange rush go through her. _I don't like him, though!_ Paulina tried to reassure herself. _He's such a loser! I mean, yeah, he's kind of fun, I guess, but come on! I wouldn't want to, like, hang out with him on a regular basis like I'm forced to now. I'm_ way_ too cool for that._

Sam's cell phone, which was resting on the dresser next to her, rang. She blinked and reached for it. Without even bothering to check who was calling, she answered it. "Hello?"

"_Paulina? It's Danny." _

Paulina replied, "Aren't you supposed to be in detention?"

"_It ended two hours ago. Mr. Lancer gave me so much work. My mind is exhausted_," said Danny.

"That's too bad," Paulina said, not really caring. She searched for an excuse to hang up. "Listen, Danny, I'm going to have to—"

"_Are you feeling better?"_

"What?" Paulina asked.

_"Tucker said that you said you weren't feeling well earlier,"_ explained Danny.

"Wait, you talked to him?"

"_He just called me. He told me what happened earlier with Valerie._" Danny sounded insecure, as if he wasn't sure he should go on.

Paulina touched her cheek where Valerie had struck her. The swelling had gone down, but it was still a little pink. She had run up to her room right after Tucker's mom had dropped her off so that Sam's parents wouldn't ask about it. "He did? Well, I-I don't know what came over me. It was just, uh, I don't know…" Paulina tried to search for the right words.

"_You've kind of been acting strange all day, though. Is there something going on? Something that maybe I should know about?" _

"No, no. Everything's fine. I just haven't been feeling well, like Tucker said. I'll be okay tomorrow," said Paulina. She was glad that Danny couldn't see her. She knew that her face would've given away her lie.

"_Well, Tucker also told me what happened when you were at his house…_" began Danny.

This made Paulina a bit angry. She knew exactly what he was talking about. What business did that techno geek have to tell Danny about their earlier conversation? "Why? Why did he tell you? It had absolutely nothing to do with you!"

"_What?_" asked Danny, incredulous, "_I think it had everything to with me!_"

Now Paulina was perplexed. "What did Tucker tell you exactly?"

"_He just said that you seemed worried about me, that you were asking strange questions about me." _

"I most certainly was not! I didn't mention you at all! Why would I care about _you?_" said Paulina heatedly. She recognized too late what she had said.

"_I—well—I don't know._" Danny seemed hurt.

Paulina felt a small pang of guilt. She didn't like it, but she was supposed to be Danny's friend. She'd never learn anything about the ghost boy if she treated him the way _Paulina_ would treat him.

"Danny, I didn't mean that," Paulina said quickly, forcefully, "I'm sorry. I just don't know what you're talking about."

"_Okay, well, see you tomorrow."_ The call disconnected. Paulina, feeling horrible, closed the cell phone and heaved a big sigh.

"I can't believe I just did that. I have to remember that I'm Sam now!" she said aloud. She looked at the picture of Danny Phantom on the wall, which she had put up to cover the hideous picture of some morbid band. _I'm not really Sam, though. I'm still Paulina…in Sam's position. _

Her eyes fell on a picture tacked to the rim of the mirror. In it, she was with Danny on a couch in a living room, which Paulina guessed to be Danny's. They were smiling and seemed happy to be together.

-DP-

Paulina didn't even bother to take all of the photos off Sam's bed when night fell. She was far too tired, but her mind was too clouded with puzzling thoughts to let her get some much needed rest. Finally, around midnight, she managed to slip into a fitful sleep which was later interrupted all too soon by the blaring of Sam's alarm clock, which was set to some station that played heavy metal and dreary synth nonstop. She immediately shut off the alarm. The music hurt her ears and induced a headache. She sat up on her bed and stretched.

She remembered her conversation with Danny the evening before. He sounded so hurt before he hung up on her.

_I have to be nicer, _she thought, _I'll apologize to Danny with all my heart, and then I'm sure he'll tell me about the ghost boy. _

Her mind made up, she started to get ready for the day, even though she wasn't sure how much longer she could stand wearing Goth apparel.


	17. 17

**Author's Note: **Yes, Paulina is mean and shallow and arrogant and all that other stuff, but so is Dash, and people don't seem to mind him so much. Lancer is biased and unfair, but a lot of people seem to like him. Then, like, Dark Dan is just pure evil, but he has a ton of fans. It's all a peculiar paradox to me.

Well, after watching Reality Trip, I guess we all know how Paulina would react if she found out Danny's secret, but honestly, I didn't buy it. It was just so _fake. _The whole episode was a disappointment, actually.

And those of you who seem a little impatient with this story...don't rush it! Even the seemingly pointless stuff is important, for to everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. (If you're wondering how that relates, I'm not entirely sure. It just sounds cool.)

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Paulina ate a quick breakfast of cold cereal. She was pleasantly surprised that her cheek had taken on its normal color, but it was still a bit sore. Sam's parents were in the kitchen as well, acting just as annoying as they had the day before.

The toaster rose into the air and hovered. Paulina stared at it in wonder and asked, "Why is the toaster floating over the counter?"

"It's from Denmark, remember?" said Pamela, pushing the toaster back down.

"So, are you going to school with Danny and Tucker, or those other friends you were talking about yesterday?" Jeremy asked.

"Danny and Tucker, of course," answered Paulina, trying to sound like she really was best friends with the two boys, "Dash and Star are just other friends of mine. They're not _nearly_ as _dear_ to me as Danny and Tucker."

The sound of the doorbell filled the house. Paulina quickly dashed to the front door, forgetting to put her bowl in the sink. She grabbed her bag, called a hasty good-bye to her parents, and threw open the door, ready to greet her "best friends."

She stopped when she saw a red-haired girl instead. Jazz looked uncomfortable as she said, "Well, um, Danny and Tucker didn't want to come and get you themselves for some reason, so, um, they told me to."

Paulina blinked. "Oh, okay." She could see the two boys waiting in her car by the curb.

Jazz cleared her throat. "So, um, did something happen between you guys?" she asked.

Paulina walked out and shut the door behind her. "Well, yes, actually, but I intend to make it all up today." She followed Jazz to her car and climbed into the back next to Tucker. "Hi!" she said, trying to sound as perky and affable as she could.

Tucker gave her a weak "hello" and turned to look out the window.

The car started to move. Paulina leaned forward to try and look at Danny. "Hey, Danny!" she said cheerfully. Danny met her gaze only briefly. Paulina could see that he was still cross about what she had said to him the night before.

"Paulina, is your seatbelt on?" asked Jazz in an overprotective manner.

Paulina sat back and quickly pulled her seatbelt across her lap and shoulder. She sighed. Danny and Tucker seemed very upset. She wasn't really sorry about what had happened between herself and the two boys, but she knew she had to make them believe that she was.

-DP-

For the entire morning, Tucker and Danny avoided Paulina not out of spite, it appeared to Paulina, but more because they didn't seem to know how to act around her. Paulina tried to talk to them, but they would just shrug and look away.

She had to carry her school bag around because she still didn't know the combination to Sam's locker. Her left shoulder was starting to ache from the weight. Normally, a guy would've offered to carry it for her, but none of the boys paid attention to her.

_I can't _wait_ to make a wish to be myself again!_ she later thought as she sat in Sam's history class. She kept glancing at the clock in the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring. She was sure she'd be able to get Danny and Tucker to talk with her at lunch.

Finally, the long-awaited moment arrived. The sound of the bell still vibrating in her head, she grabbed her bag and tried to catch the two boys as they headed out the door.

"Danny! Tucker! Wait up!" Paulina called to them. They kept walking, never turning to look back at her. She walked up beside them. "Hey, didn't you hear me calling you guys? Don't ignore me, come on!"

In the cafeteria, Danny and Tucker went in line to get their food. Paulina stayed at their usual table to wait for them. She watched them get their lunch, watched them walk, watched them sit at another table.

"What? That is _so_ rude!" exclaimed Paulina. Furious, she stood. A hand stopped her before she could start walking.

"Did your friends abandon you, Paulina?" said Sam with mock concern, "They must have realized how much of a freak you are!"

Paulina said nothing. She simply pushed the girl away and stomped her way over to the two boys.

"I bet you don't have a date for the school dance this Friday, huh? No one would want to take you anyway!" Sam called after her. Paulina ignored the comment.

She stood before Danny and Tucker, her hands on her hips. "Hey, why are you guys avoiding me?"

Danny didn't look at her. Tucker spoke, "Paulina, Danny doesn't really want to be around you right now, and I'm supporting him because I _care_ about him."

Paulina sighed and sat down across from them. "So, he told you what happened?"

"Yeah, and I couldn't believe it at first," said Tucker, "What is up with you? You really upset him!"

"Tucker…" said Danny darkly. He obviously didn't feel comfortable with the subject.

"I know, I know." Paulina tried to sound sincere. "I'm sorry. I really, truly am. I was not myself at all yesterday."

Danny said nothing. Tucker checked his watch.

"You guys, come on! I'm serious!" Paulina whined. She gently reached over and took Danny's right hand in her own two, causing him to drop his fork. He looked at her questioningly. Tucker was equally confused.

"Danny, I didn't mean what I said last night," she started, "I care about you…so much more than you know…" She smiled tentatively. "Please forgive me?"

Paulina could see the surprise in his eyes. For a moment, it looked like he was going to pull away from her. Then, he grinned and leaned in closer to her. "Paulina," he said, "That is _really_ weird."

Tucker started laughing hysterically. Paulina let go of his hand. Danny laughed as well.

Paulina watched them for awhile, not sure exactly what was so funny. "Are you guys done yet?" she finally asked.

"No," replied Danny before breaking into another laughing fit. Tucker was trying his hardest to stop.

Paulina's eyes narrowed with boredom. Finally, the two boys managed to settle down. They looked at Paulina boyishly. Paulina just blinked.

"Okay, Paulina. It's okay. I…I think I can forgive you," said Danny with a big smile.

"Really?" Paulina straightened up.

"Yeah, I mean, you obviously just aren't yourself. That very, uh, _odd_ apology proved it." Danny held back a chuckle.

Paulina blushed. "Well, I…ah, it doesn't matter! You really forgive me?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, just answer me something…" He looked at Tucker before continuing. "_Are_ you worried about me? Do you think I'll become something to fear?"

Paulina stared at him. "What?"

"Because, Paulina, there's nothing to worry about," said Danny, "I won't change for the worse. I promise you that."

"What are you talking about?" asked Paulina. He made no sense to her.

"You were asking me about him, remember?" said Tucker.

"Okay, I still have no idea what you're talking about." Paulina studied the two boys, hoping to find some kind of clue in their faces. "I don't remember asking _anything_ about him."

"Oh, right. You were asking about _Danny Phantom_." Tucker shook his head. "Big difference, huh?"

"Stop it!" cried Paulina, "Just stop it, okay? You're confusing me!"

"Paulina, it's okay," reassured Danny, "Just know that I'll always be there for you."

Even though she didn't understand, Paulina couldn't help but smile at the affectionate tone in his voice.


	18. 18

**Author's Note: **Paulina's reaction in Reality Trip seemed fake because it suggested that she's not really all that stuck-up, which we know she is. I don't think she'd fall so quickly for a loser even if he also happened to be the boy she had been crushing on. She might've eventually, I don't know, but definitely not that quickly. I mean, come on, shock or something should've come first!

A couple of you are still impatient! I wish I could explain to you the importance of everything that's happening, but that would take too long. In short, this story has a plot that one would call a plot of "discovery." A plot of discovery isn't just about the discovery itself, but more on the character that makes the discovery. This is a character story, in case you haven't noticed. The events just help build the character. Now, since most people don't like Paulina, I didn't make her the only one that makes a discovery. I threw in Danny and Sam as well.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

For the rest of the school day, all Paulina could do was think about the ghost boy. Now that Danny had forgiven her, she knew she could finally ask him about the ghost that had captured her heart.

_Hopefully, he won't be as stubborn and obscure as Tucker. I'm sure I can get him to talk…I still have my charm, after all._ During Sam's final class, on some notebook paper, she sketched a picture of her hugging the ghost boy. _Then again, I couldn't get him to tell me anything last time I tried…_

The final bell rang. Danny, Tucker, and Paulina exited together.

"Paulina, do you need to go to your locker?" asked Danny.

"Er, no," replied Paulina, who still didn't know the combination.

The three stopped at Tucker's locker, then made their way to Danny's. Paulina saw Danny's arm phase through his locker again.

"I think I might be going crazy, you guys," said Paulina, putting a hand to her forehead.

"Why?" asked Danny, putting his books in his bag.

"Your arm…" Paulina didn't bother finishing.

"What? What's wrong with my arm? Why do you keep mentioning it?" asked Danny, observing his limb closely.

Paulina shrugged. "I don't know. Forget it."

Tucker eyed her circumspectly, then brightened and pulled out something from his pocket. "Oh, yeah! Check out my awesome new cell phone, you guys!"

"Wow," said Danny, unimpressed.

"Who cares? I have one, too," said Paulina, pulling out Sam's cell phone that was identical to Tucker's.

"Yeah, so do I," said Danny.

"Oh, yeah? Where is it, then?" asked Tucker.

"At home," replied Danny.

"Because it's lame!" said Tucker in a fake, high-pitched voice, using his cell phone as a mouth.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Tuck, don't do that. It's disturbing."

Paulina giggled quietly. These boys…they were just so _funny_…

_But they're still losers, _said a voice in the back of her mind.

_That's right, they are,_ thought Paulina. _They don't even _qualify_ to be my _real_ friends._

"So, what do you guys want to do today?" asked Danny.

"Actually, Danny, I'd like to talk to you…" Paulina glanced at Tucker, "Alone."

Danny furrowed his brow. "Why?"

"It's okay," said Tucker, winking at Paulina, "I need to get home anyway. I should probably go so I can catch my bus. I'll see you guys later!" He waved and hurried away.

"The bus? Don't you guys—er, we—usually ride home with your sister?" asked Paulina.

"No, of course not," said Danny, "You know that. Jazz has just been more generous than usual…you know, ever since we let her in on our secret…"

"What secret?" Paulina wondered what he was talking about. She followed him to the front doors of the school.

Danny laughed. "Wow, you really are out of it. So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" They were outside now. They walked towards the street.

"Well, I have something to ask you…" started the Hispanic girl.

"Actually…I do, too," said Danny.

Paulina froze, but for only a moment. "You do?"

"Yeah, you see, Paulina, I like Sam. I really do, but I've been thinking lately…I've been fighting with my feelings…" Danny had trouble putting his thoughts into words. Paulina was a bit unnerved. Danny continued, "Well, you know the school dance this Friday, right?"

"Y-Yeah," said Paulina. The two were walking along the sidewalk now. Paulina had no idea where they were going, though.

"Well, I was wondering…maybe…if you want…" Danny looked down at the ground. He was blushing.

_Oh, no,_ thought Paulina, _He's going to ask me to the dance. Well, I guess this means he really _does_ like Sam._ She wondered how she was going to decline without hurting his feelings. _Why should I care about hurting his feelings?_

She decided to interrupt him instead. "Danny, please. First, can I ask about the ghost boy?"

Danny was startled by the question. "What?"

"The ghost boy? Danny Phantom? You know him, right?" said Paulina.

Danny, bewildered, stopped walking. "I'm sorry. I don't follow."

"Danny, I _know_ you know him." Paulina could feel herself growing impatient again.

"Uh, is this some sort of personal, reflective question?" asked Danny.

"No!" shouted Paulina, "It's a simple, straightforward question! Now, don't be like Tucker and just tell me what you know about him!"

Danny was taken aback at the girl's forcefulness. "Well, um…you'd know him better, Paulina. Seriously, it often seems like you know more about him than I do. You can always point out his flaws…" He smiled. "You make him feel so good at the same time, though."

Paulina's eye twitched. Why was he being so _difficult?_

She remembered the pictures she had found, the ones with the ghost boy, the ones with her and Danny Phantom together… _I guess I _do_ know him_, she thought, _Well, Sam does, anyway, but how?_

The two students started walking again. "Well, remind me, Danny," Paulina finally said, "Who is he?"

Danny looked into the distance. "Well, I like to think he's a hero. He always tries to protect people. He'd feel terrible if he failed to help someone." He turned back to Paulina. "He won't become something he shouldn't, though. He'll always be good. I guarantee that."

"Okay, yeah, but that's not what I meant. _Who is he?_ What's he like? Where can he be found? Does he have a family? Come on, you have to know _something!_" Paulina pressured the dark-haired boy.

"Paulina, what—why—what are you talking about?" Danny was flustered.

"_Danny!_" Paulina screamed. She raised a hand. Danny winced. Paulina wanted to hit him, smack him, hurt him. She took in a deep breath and slowly lowered her arm, controlling herself. "Danny." She tried again, softer, more dangerous. "Do you know the ghost boy?"

"Yes…" said Danny, still not sure what she was trying to get at.

"Very well?"

"Er…yes…"

"Then, tell me…" Paulina stopped him. He looked into her eyes. "What do you know about him?"

An awkward silence encompassed them. Paulina waited, but Danny was too stunned and confused to say anything.

Danny finally shook his head and studied her closely. "Paulina, I don't understand. I mean, _I'm_—"

A car pulled up next to them, shattering the moment. The two looked to see a pink Beetle beside them. The front car window rolled down, revealing Danny's sister in the driver's seat. "Danny, there you are! I've been looking for you! Mom and Dad want us home right now. Some family thing they want to do." She noticed the Latina with him. "Sorry, Paulina. Danny can't hang out right now. I'll take you home, though."

"Oh…sure…" Paulina nodded. She and Danny entered the car, Danny in the front, Paulina in the back. Jazz drove off.

_I thought this wish would help me find out about the ghost boy!_ Paulina stared out the window. _This is _so_ annoying! Are Danny and Tucker _stupid_ or something? Is it really that hard to answer a simple question?_

"Paulina, your seatbelt!" Jazz ordered.

Paulina, more than a little vexed, secured the belt across her body, and even though she couldn't really see him, she glared at the boy in the front passenger's seat.


	19. 19

**Author's Note: **I know it seems like this story is moving slowly, but actually, it's not. See, like I've said at least twice, this story is split into sections of about 1000 words, not chapters. So, you're only reading 1000 words every few days, which gives the illusion of slow progress when it's actually pretty well-balanced. Putting it into perspective, if I actually decided to split this into chapters of appropriate length and containing at least one plot point, the beginning (sections 1-10) would've been about three chapters, and the start of the middle up until now (11-19) would've been about 3 chapters as well. We'd be on the sixth chapter right now. Nothing, right? The entire story would be 12 chapters altogether. Very short indeed.

On another note, the climax can't happen just yet because that would bring about a whole lot of melodrama(as in, emotions expressed would be exaggerated beyond the subject matter's ability to sustain that level of emotion). I hate melodrama. Therefore, I try to avoid it at all costs.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

From Sam's bed, on her back, Paulina stared up at the ceiling. It had been a couple of hours since Jazz had dropped her off. Pamela had some cook make a wonderful dinner, but the Latina hadn't the appetite to eat.

She had looked at the newspaper article that reported on her encounter with the ghost boy on Dash's roof, but it was Sam in the picture. Her name had been replaced with Sam's. She didn't know why that bothered her so much. She _had_ successfully switched lives with the girl, after all. Of course it would be Sam in the article. Still, it disturbed her to see Sam with the ghost boy in the picture…

_Then again, Sam apparently knew him _before_ I made the wish, _thought Paulina. The photographs she had found…the ones with Danny Phantom, Tucker, and herself…well, Sam, actually. _But where is Danny Fenton in those pictures?_ she thought, _Danny also knows the ghost boy._

She closed her eyes. _How do those losers know him anyway?_

A discontented melody started playing. Paulina recognized it as Sam's ring tone and, halfheartedly, picked up the cell phone on the dresser beside her. "Hello?"

"_Paulina! Quick! At the school! Danny needs us!"_ She recognized Tucker's voice on the other end.

"What? Why?" asked Paulina, noting the urgency in his tone.

"_Ghost trouble! Get your Fenton Thermos, okay? He says he forgot his, and I don't know where mine is."_

"Wait, Fenton Thermos? What's that?" questioned Paulina, but Tucker had already hung up. "Okay, well…I guess I should go…what did he mean by 'ghost trouble,' though?"

She ran downstairs and told Sam's parents she was going out.

"Okay, just remember your ten o'clock curfew," Jeremy said.

"Curfew?" Paulina was surprised. She had never had a curfew before. "Right, okay. Ten o'clock! Bye!" She ran out the door to the side of the house where she saw a scooter had been parked earlier. _My moped is so much faster…_ she thought sadly. She secured a dark purple helmet on her head, jumped on the scooter, and started towards the school.

_He did say the school, right?_ Paulina had a little difficulty remembering the place Tucker told her to go. _I think that's right. I wonder what Danny's gotten himself into? Ghost trouble? His parents _are_ ghost fighters…_ She rolled her eyes. _What a dumb profession. _

The moon was only a thin shard that night, and the stars were dim and unexciting. Still, she rode on, her curiosity piqued.

-DP-

Paulina parked the scooter by the front sidewalk and took off her helmet. She looked around. She didn't see anyone.

"Was this some sort of trick?" demanded Paulina of the night. The night didn't answer, but a familiar voice did.

"Paulina! There you are! Get over here!" Tucker called to her from the side of the school. Without hesitating, she ran towards him. As she came closer, she noticed something that made her heart race.

The ghost boy was engaged in a fight in the air with a vicious-looking ghost that resembled a giant scorpion. Paulina stared at him, unable to move, to think, to breathe.

_Oh, Tucker—when he called—he didn't mean _loser_-Danny needed our help, he meant _ghost_-Danny!_ Paulina was delighted to be so close to the white-haired boy again.

"Paulina!" Danny Phantom called down to her.

Paulina looked up, ecstatic. "Yes, ghost boy?"

"Wait, did you just call me—" Before he could finish, the ghost boy was thrown into the wall of the school. He gasped, trying to regain his breath.

Paulina ran to him. "Ghost boy! Are you okay?"

"Watch out!" shouted the ghost boy. The scorpion slammed into him, shaking the ground. Paulina lost her balance and fell.

"Paulina, what are you doing?" asked Tucker, helping her up and pulling her out of the way. The ghost boy blasted the scorpion with a strange, green energy blast.

"It's him, Tucker! It's him!" said Paulina breathlessly, clasping her hands together.

"Yeah, of course it's him," said Tucker, "Who else?"

"He's so dreamy…" Paulina sighed, then looked around. "Hey, where's _our_ Danny?"

"What do you mean, _our_ Danny?" Tucker moved her out of the way of another blast.

Paulina huffed. "You know…there's Danny Phantom fighting the scorpion, where's Danny Fenton?"

"Uh…is that meant to be some sort of deep, philosophical question?" asked Tucker, not getting it.

"No! What is with you and Danny? You turn all of my simple questions into something…well, not simple! _Where. Is. Danny_?" Paulina strongly emphasized each word.

"Well…he's right there, of course." Tucker pointed at the white-haired ghost battling the scorpion.

Paulina growled. "No! Not _that_ Danny, I mean—"

"Paulina, did you bring your Fenton Thermos?" asked the ghost boy, dodging the scorpion's sting.

Paulina's eyes widened. "Um…"

"Paulina, no! You didn't forget, did you? I _told_ you!" cried Tucker.

"I didn't know what you were talking about!" Paulina was suddenly very embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, ghost boy!"

"Why are you calling me that? Wait—hold on—move!" screamed the ghost boy. Tucker ran out of the way, but Paulina was rooted to the spot with fear. The last thing she saw before the darkness plagued her was a bright green light and the glowing form of Danny Phantom flying towards her.

-DP-

She woke up with a terrible headache. She felt feverish. Her forehead was wet with perspiration.

She was on her bed, under the covers. She turned to look out her window. It was dark. Two shadows were hovering over her.

"Paulina, thank goodness! I'm so sorry! How are you feeling?" asked one of the shadows with Danny's voice. Paulina's eyes began to adjust the darkness. She could make out the outlines of two boys…

"We brought you home. Your parents came in a little while ago, but we hid. They figured you just fell asleep. Danny flew your scooter home, too," said Tucker.

"Flew? What do you mean?" asked Paulina drowsily, then faint realization dawned on her, "You mean Danny Phantom? The ghost boy? Where is he?"

"I'm right here, Paulina," said Danny, gently stroking her hand.

"What are you talking about? Where—what? I can't see him. I want to see him!" yelled Paulina.

Tucker quickly covered her mouth. "Quiet! We don't want your parents to hear! It's eleven o'clock at night!"

"Where is the ghost boy?" demanded the girl again.

"Paulina, you're—you're delirious. Just go back to sleep, okay?" Danny dabbed at her forehead with a wet cloth.

"I don't want to sleep…I want to see him…" Paulina's words slurred and faded, her mind wandered off. Her head still pounded as she drifted into a dreamless slumber.


	20. 20

**Author's Note: **Okay, so you might be wondering why Danny, Tucker, and Paulina don't suspect anything of each other. Well, the first reason is simple: it's only been two days. Paulina made the wish Monday night, and the last section ended Wednesday night. They're not going to figure out or even suspect something too radical in such a short amount of time. Second reason: people tend to make up all excuses possible before being convinced of something that just seems so impossible. Paulina doesn't think that Danny could _ever_ be someone as cool as the ghost boy, so even with all of the clues, she wouldn't figure it out unless Danny actually transformed in front of her. The most Danny and Tucker could suspect of Paulina is that she's being overshadowed by a ghost, but Danny could just look into her and see that she's not. So, then, they'd really just think she's being weird. You see, Sam(after the wish) is not acting different. To them, Sam is Sam, she's always been Sam, she's acting just like Sam has always acted. Since everyone except Paulina is acting the same, there's not too much they can conclude about Paulina's strange behavior without knowing more about the situation, and it's not like they're going to go to Clockwork or whoever about it. So, yeah. I could go on much longer about this, but the rest is pretty easy to figure out.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

The sun streamed in through her window and implored her to open her eyes. Paulina groggily awoke, vaguely wondering where Danny and Tucker were.

_And…what happened to the ghost boy?_ she thought. Stretching, she sat up and stood. She quickly regretted the action. Her head swam, her vision blackened, and her legs weakened. She grabbed onto a bedpost for support, feeling dizzy.

She breathed and slowly exhaled. Her head started to clear, and her vision slowly came back. She blinked and put a hand to her head, wondering what exactly had happened the night before.

-DP-

Downstairs, she was surprised to see Danny and Tucker already there, sitting at Sam's kitchen table.

"Hey, sunshine. Did you sleep well?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes," Paulina lied. She looked at the two boys. "Um…what are you guys doing here?" She sat down next to them. She didn't feel like eating.

"Oh, well…we just decided to come early today. We have to take the bus anyway," said Tucker.

"Okay, that's cool, I guess," said Paulina, still not feeling that well.

"We should go. The bus will be here soon," said Danny, looking at the clock in the kitchen.

"Sure. Let's go." Paulina stood. Danny and Tucker did as well.

"Pollykins, don't you want some breakfast?" asked Pamela, holding up a plate of toast.

Just looking at the food made Paulina's stomach churn. She shook her head. "No, thanks, Mama. I'm not hungry this morning."

"Since when do you call me 'Mama?'" asked Pamela.

Paulina just shrugged and followed Danny and Tucker outside, calling a hurried good-bye to Sam's parents.

They walked slowly to the bus stop. "Shouldn't we be going faster?" asked Paulina.

"Why?" asked Danny.

"You said the bus would be here soon," said Paulina.

"Oh, you know it won't come for another ten minutes. I just said that so that we could talk alone." Danny looked down at the ground, then back at her. "Paulina, I am _so_ sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt! I feel so _terrible._ Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Paulina, though she didn't mean it. She felt a chill go down her spine. "Anyway, why are _you_ sorry? I didn't see you at all last night."

Danny grimaced in mental pain. "Oh, I know! I'm sorry! I tried to get to you before the blast, but it just happened so fast! I mean, all of sudden, you were on the ground. You were breathing strangely, and you started burning up. I was so scared! Horrified, even, because I was too late to save you!" Paulina could tell he was really upset.

They arrived at the bus stop. Danny put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Paulina, for a moment, I didn't know if you were going to be okay…"

Paulina was blank for a moment. It seemed so different to have someone care about her that much. It was new to her, and it made her feel wonderful. She gently shook off his grip. "Danny, it's okay. Don't worry about it. I don't blame you." _You weren't even_ there, she silently added. To change the subject, she asked, "So, how long were you at my house?"

"A long time," said Tucker, "Till about two in the morning."

"Weren't your parents worried?" asked Paulina.

"Well, I called Jazz and got her to cover for me. Tucker actually went back to his house for a little while, then snuck back out," Danny informed.

"Hmm…" Paulina leaned against a nearby tree. "Two in the morning, huh? Was I that sick?"

"Yeah. That scorpion ghost got you pretty good," said Tucker.

"You were shivering, but you had a fever. Then, when you woke up for about five minutes, you seemed dazed and said some…weird things. You went back to sleep, but you were still shaking. After a couple of hours, you started to cool down and relax. That's when we left," said Danny, then he glared at Tucker, "I wanted to _stay_, though."

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Danny, you know we couldn't stay. What would our parents think if they couldn't find us in the morning? Or what would Paulina's parents think if they just happened to see us in her room?"

"Hey, it's okay," said Paulina. She looked up at the sky. A cloud was covering the sun at the moment.

"Paulina, if you don't mind my asking…" Tucker adjusted his glasses. "Why were you calling Danny 'ghost boy' last night?"

_Danny, he means Danny Phantom, _thought Paulina as she nervously shrugged.

Danny laughed. "Yeah, who do you think you are? Sam?"

Paulina's eyes widened at the look on Danny's face. _Does he know something?_ Then it was gone, and Paulina relaxed. _Okay, how would Sam respond?_ "Don't be comparing me to her!" she snapped.

Danny and Tucker exchanged amused glances.

-DP-

At lunch that day, Paulina still didn't feel like eating. Danny and Tucker rushed to get a spot in line. Paulina walked slowly to their normal table so as not to upset her stomach. Passing the popular table, she caught a bit of a conversation between Sam and Dash.

"Dash, just know that the _only_ reason I'm going to the dance with you tomorrow is so that no one thinks I'm a loser who couldn't get a date," Sam said, "That's it."

Dash seemed dejected. "But Sam—"

"Dash, I told you. I'm only interested in the ghost boy," said Sam firmly, her arms crossed.

Paulina moved on, eventually reaching the table and taking a seat. She waited for Danny and Tucker.

Finally, they arrived with their lunches and sat down. "Paulina, you sure you're not hungry?" asked Tucker.

"Yeah, I'm sure," said Paulina. Her head was feeling better, but her stomach still felt unsettled.

There was silence for a couple of seconds. Danny cleared his throat. Tucker excused himself to get some ketchup for his hamburger.

"Paulina, I wanted to ask you yesterday, but…well, you know…" Danny swallowed. "The dance tomorrow? I was wondering if you—that is, if you want to, um—"

"Danny!" Valerie walked up to the table and smiled at him. She ignored Paulina. Paulina stiffened a little, remembering Valerie's punch the other day.

"Hi, Valerie!" said Danny, smiling broadly.

"Listen, Danny, you know the dance tomorrow? I don't have a date yet…I was wondering if you'd like to take me?" Valerie pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Really?" Danny was stunned. He glanced at Paulina. "Well, actually—"

"He'd love to," Paulina said quickly, thankful for Valerie's proposal. She didn't really want to go to the dance, not as Sam, anyway. She wanted to be popular. She wanted all of the boys to beg her to dance with them. She wanted attention, something she knew she couldn't get as Sam. "You would, right, Danny?"

"Wait, what?" Danny seemed surprised. "Well, uh, sure! Yeah, I'll take you! I'll pick you up at eight, okay?"

"Great! See you then, Danny!" Valerie waved and practically skipped away.

Danny turned back to Paulina, incredulous and blushing. "Valerie actually wants to go to the dance with me? I thought she wasn't interested…" He stood, gripping his tray. "I'm going to throw my lunch away. I'll be right back."

As soon as Danny left, Tucker came back. He looked excited. "So, did he ask?"

"Did he ask what?" Paulina combed her fingers through her hair.

"You know…did he ask you to the dance?" questioned Tucker.

"Oh. No, he didn't," said Paulina.

Tucker's jaw dropped. "What? He said he was going to! He really didn't ask?"

"Well, Valerie came over and asked him, and he said yes." Paulina shrugged.

"Oh, wow. I'm so _sorry_, Paulina." Tucker shook his head.

"Don't be. I don't care, honestly." Paulina could see Danny making his way back.

"Well, then, Paulina…I'll take you to the dance," Tucker offered.

Paulina blinked. He was trying to be a good friend. She wanted to say no, but then again, she was touched by his altruism. None of her other friends—her _popular_ friends—would do something like that for her"Okay, that's fine." She reluctantly accepted, though she kind of wished she _had_ let Danny ask her. _I'd rather go with Danny than Tucker._

Tucker smiled sympathetically. Danny came over and sat down next to Tucker and breathlessly exclaimed, "Tucker, you won't _believe_ what just happened!"

Paulina coughed. The techno geek looked at his friend vacantly. "You know, I probably won't."


	21. 21

**Author's Note: **Well, I wanted to make this section the dance one, but there was a problem: the last section ended Thursday afternoon, and the dance is on a Friday night. Since this is a character story, it would've been too much to jump that far. I needed to develop one last aspect of Paulina's changing outlook of things anyway(and a minor one of Danny's as well, but you probably won't recognize it until much later).

And now, something that has been bothering me. A lot of people are using the last name "Sanchez" for Paulina. Is this official, or did everyone just kind of adopt that to be her last name? Either way, it's extremely unoriginal.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Later that day, when the final bell rang, Paulina had to take the bus home alone. Danny and Tucker both received detention from Mr. Lancer for talking during class.

"Just rest, Paulina, okay? I can tell you're still not feeling that well," Danny had said before he waved good-bye to her. Paulina felt a strange surge of appreciation for the boy. He seemed to care so much about her.

_Perhaps that's how a friend is supposed to be,_ Paulina thought to herself as she sat near the front of the bus, away from everyone else.

Sam's parents went out that night, so Paulina was home alone. She tried to get some homework done, but she couldn't concentrate. Finally, she gave up and moved to Sam's wide window. She stared out at the setting sun, her head still spinning with faint pain.

The brilliant reds and yellows soon faded into majestic blues and purples. Paulina started to feel sluggish. _Last night, I saw the ghost boy. Does Sam get to fight with him all the time? _

She flopped down on Sam's bed, not bothering to change out of the horrid Goth clothes. _Maybe the ghost boy likes Sam? But, that night, when we danced…he really seemed to like _me.

She massaged her disconcerted stomach. _He mentioned he had a male ghost friend named Sam…maybe he actually meant _Sam,_ and just didn't want me to know? Maybe he just didn't want me to feel jealous or something? Not that I'd be jealous of that freak, but…well…_ She looked at the picture of Danny Phantom she had put on Sam's wall. _If she _does_ actually know him, then I guess…maybe I _am_ jealous._

_I still need to do my—Sam's—homework_… was Paulina's last thought before she fell asleep.

-DP-

The next morning, Danny and Tucker picked up Paulina for the bus. When they arrived at school, they stopped in front of Danny's locker.

"So, are you feeling better, Paulina?" asked Tucker.

"I am," said Paulina, though 'better' was an understatement. She felt wonderful and refreshed. "I had a really good sleep last night."

"I'm glad," Danny said before tripping over his shoelaces. He grabbed Paulina's shoulder to keep himself from falling.

Paulina blushed at his touch, then quickly recovered. "Way to suck, Danny." She flinched at her words. _Well, _maybe_ that's something Sam would say. _

"Yeah, yeah," mumbled Danny, quickly retying his laces. He stood up and reached toward his locker.

"Hey, Fenton!" Dash grabbed Danny by the back of his shirt. Danny rolled his eyes, but he didn't bother trying to resist.

Paulina wanted to tell the jock to back off, to leave Danny alone, but she knew he wouldn't listen to her, not when she was currently Sam. _Why doesn't Danny ever try to defend himself?_ She frowned. _And why do I care so much about him all of a sudden?_

"What do you want, Dash?" asked Danny, clearly irritated.

Dash smirked and slammed the smaller boy in the row of lockers, causing his right temple to hit a lock. Danny grimaced and put a hand to the side of his head. Dash, laughing, walked away to join his friends.

"Man, that hurt," said Danny, rubbing the now very sore and red spot.

"Danny, why do you let him bully you?" asked Paulina. She was amazed that Dash actually _hurt_ him.

"Paulina, we all know that Danny could _easily_ throw Dash—" Tucker began.

"Wait, he _can_?" Paulina interrupted, not believing it.

"I could," said Danny with a shrug, "but that would mean revealing my secret."

"What secret?" asked Paulina, looking first at Danny, then at Tucker.

"You know…Danny's ghost powers?" Tucker practically whispered.

Paulina stopped herself before she could exclaim anything. _Danny's _what? she silently wondered. She didn't know if she had heard right. Ghost powers? What did that mean?

_Wait, his parents are ghost fighters. That must be what they're talking about. Yeah, I guess Danny_ could _beat Dash with those cool ghost-fighting weapons…_ Paulina nodded at her own logic.

"Come on, let's go to class," said Tucker, tugging at her arm.

"Did the bell ring?" asked Paulina.

"Yeah, didn't you hear it?" asked Danny.

Paulina didn't answer. She had a caught a glimpse of the shrine to Danny Phantom in Sam's locker and was lost in thoughts of the ghost boy.

-DP-

After school, Danny, Tucker and Paulina decided to go to Nasty Burger before the dance.

"I'm really excited about going with Valerie," said Danny, "even if we're really only going as friends."

"Friends?" asked Paulina.

"Yeah, I don't think she's _actually_ interested in me. I still kind of like her, though." Danny sighed, then smiled again. "So, it's interesting that you and Tucker are going to another dance together."

"Yeah, well, just don't steal her like you did last time, Danny," Tucker teased. He winked at Paulina, not really meaning it.

Paulina looked at the nearest wall clock. It was already 4:30. "What time does the dance start, anyway?"

"At seven," replied Danny.

"Wow, I should get home and get ready," said Paulina, standing up.

Tucker laughed. "Paulina, do you really need that much time?"

"Oh, uh, no," said the Latina quickly. _How much time would Sam take?_ she wondered. She threw her soda away in the nearest trash can. "It's just I have some things to do at home first."

"Well, we'll walk you home, then. You live nearby," said Danny. He threw away his drink as well, but Tucker kept his.

"That'd be nice," said Paulina, meaning it.

The three freshmen headed out, enjoying the cool afternoon air. Danny and Tucker started a conversation about some new video game, but Paulina didn't pay much attention.

_This wish is seriously being wasted. So far, I haven't found out anything about the ghost boy except that Danny, Tucker, and Sam all know him and even fight with him sometimes._ The Hispanic girl gripped the strap of her bag tighter. _Before, though, I noticed that the ghost boy always seems to appear wherever Danny is, so maybe…maybe he'll be at the dance tonight?_ She smiled. _I hope a ghost attacks us. Then, he'll show up and save us…save _me… She made a face. _Or Sam, but I guess if he saved _Sam_, that would really be saving _me_, so— _

"What are you thinking about, Paulina?" asked Tucker.

Paulina blinked. "Oh, I…" She cleared her throat. "Danny, please answer me something."

"What?" Danny leaned in closer to her.

"Do you think there will be any ghosts at the dance tonight?" questioned Paulina.

Danny was taken aback. "Well, uh—maybe—I don't know." He laughed. "But knowing my luck, probably."

"Stupid Murphy and his stupid law," said Tucker.

Paulina almost asked who Murphy was, but decided that Sam probably already knew. Danny and Tucker began a new conversation, and Paulina tried her best to join in, but she just couldn't push the thought of the ghost boy away.


	22. 22

**Author's Note: **Paulina's an idiot, but that's not why she can't figure out that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom. I explained that, remember? According to her, both Danny being the ghost boy and anyone being half-ghost at all is just impossible. That's why she comes to the conclusions that she does. Did any of you really expect her to say, "Danny's ghost powers? Of course! Danny is the ghost boy!" No way. This is also why Danny's parents can't figure it out even with all of the clues. 

However, Paulina being an idiot _is_ the reason why she didn't really try to act like Sam before. If _Sam _made the wish, yeah, Sam would know that she needed to act like Paulina to not raise suspicion, but Paulina doesn't have common sense like Sam does. (This is part of the reason why they make such interesting rivals.)

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Paulina waited by the front door of Sam's house for Tucker to come and pick her up. Normally, she would've been excited and impatient for her date to arrive, but this time, she felt a little sullen and depressed.

She looked down at the new white dress that Sam's mother bought for her that day. She knew that she looked beautiful, but what was the point if everyone at school thought she was a nobody?

"Paulina?" Pamela came up to her. "I'm so glad you decided to wear that dress! I know that it's not a color you like, but it just looks gorgeous on you!"

"Of course it does," Paulina muttered, not caring if she sounded impudent.

Pamela frowned. "Is something wrong?" Paulina didn't answer. Sam's mother went on, "You know, you never told me who your date was."

"It's Tucker," Paulina said indifferently, folding her arms.

"Tucker? Oh…" Sam's mother sounded disappointed.

Paulina shrugged. She felt disappointed as well. She hadn't found out as much as she had hoped about the ghost boy. She was so excited and had such high hopes in the beginning, but everything just seemed to collapse on her. The only thing that kept her from calling Tucker and telling him that she didn't want to go was the thought of the ghost boy maybe being there.

_Just like before Dash's party,_ thought Paulina, _except the chance of him coming is smaller this time._ She felt that she should be more excited. Danny even _said_ there was a good chance of a ghost attack at the dance. Why did she feel so down? Was it because she'd be going as someone unpopular, and no one would notice her?

There was a knock at the door. Paulina slowly opened it to find Tucker in a dark grey suit. In the moonlight, he looked almost handsome.

"Hey, Paulina. You ready? My dad's taking us." He motioned to the car waiting nearby.

"Yeah, I guess," said Paulina.

Tucker looked her up and down. "You're wearing white. That's kind of…weird."

"Whatever," said Paulina. She followed Tucker out, not bothering to say good-bye to Sam's mother. She sighed. _I wish the ghost boy was my date. Then, we could just _fly_ to the dance._

-DP-

Danny walked into the gym where the dance was being held with Valerie by his side.

"Danny, I just want to tell you that…I mean, I still like you, you know? I don't think I'm really ready for a relationship, though," said Valerie, nervously tugging at her dress.

"I understand. Just friends, right? We can still have fun." Danny grinned and took her arm, leading her further into the room. Valerie blushed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Paulina watched them from a wall nearby; Danny in his dark blue suit and Valerie in a long, red dress. They began to dance, and Paulina fondly remembered her dance with the ghost boy.

"Here," said Tucker as he walked up and held out a cup to her. Paulina took it from him, nonchalantly taking a sip of the red-colored drink. She watched Danny and Valerie twirl about on the dance floor. Just how many girls did he like, anyway? She whispered low enough so that Tucker wouldn't hear, "Loser love."

Tucker sadly watched the couple as well. "Danny's so lucky."

"How so?" asked Paulina.

"He has ghost powers, good looks, girls that actually _like_ him…" He sighed. "I can't even get a girl to pay just a _little_ attention to me."

Paulina wasn't sure how to respond. What would Sam do? She had never really had to comfort any of her friends. "Tucker, I don't see _why_ you can't get a girl because you're…a…nice…person…" Paulina struggled with the words, but as soon as they were out, she was surprised to find that she meant them.

Tucker smiled at her. "Thanks, Paulina." He stretched out his arms. "I just can't believe Danny didn't ask you to go to the dance with him."

Paulina turned away. "Don't worry about it. I don't care."

Tucker misinterpreted her reaction for hurt feelings, but he wasn't sure how to make her feel better. "So, um, you wanna dance?" he finally asked.

Paulina shrugged. "Sure." She didn't actually want to, but she didn't have anything else to do. She allowed the boy to lead her out onto the floor.

While she and Tucker danced, she offhandedly observed the others in the room. She saw Sam in a bright pink dress dancing with Dash in his normal light blue suit. Sam was keeping a good distance between the two of them while Dash tried to move in closer to her. Her shining black hair gracefully shaped her face, her make-up beautifully accentuating her features. Paulina saw the girl in a new light. _She's pretty. I wonder why I never noticed that before?_

As Tucker spun her around, she also noticed Kwan in a black suit dancing with Star in a strapless, bright orange dress. She was blushing, her blonde hair elegantly pulled back, two curling tresses hanging down in front of her ears.

A glowing form suddenly rushed up through the ground behind Star, causing the back of her dress to flail up. She shrieked and quickly tried to cover herself again. Kwan and some other kids laughed.

_What was that thing?_ Paulina wondered. "Did you see that?" she asked Tucker.

"See what?" Tucker obviously hadn't noticed.

Paulina shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Danny tense and shiver. She faintly heard Valerie ask him what was wrong.

Screams filled the air. Everyone stopped dancing to see a menacing, ghostly woman with her hair up in a net.

"The Lunch Lady!" Tucker gasped.

"She _does_ kind of look like a lunch lady," agreed Paulina. Normally, she would've been scared, but she knew that the ghost boy would come. She saw Valerie say something to Danny before quickly dashing off. Danny ran over to them as soon as she left.

"Can you believe this? I mean, really, can you _believe_ this?" Danny seemed frustrated, not at all scared or panicked as many other kids were. He threw his hands up in the air and started pacing the floor, clearly vexed. "Every time! Every dance! These stupid ghosts always appear at the most inconvenient moments! Why? Can't they just let me have some time to myself, for once? Can't they—"

"Danny, how about you rant later?" said Tucker. He motioned to the Lunch Lady, who was yelling at some students, blaming them for the absence of meat at the dance.

Danny huffed and quickly scanned the area. Most of the students had already run out of the building, and the few who still remained paid no attention to the three. "I'm going ghost!" he shouted.

"Danny, what are you—" Paulina stopped mid-sentence. Her jaw slacked, her eyes widened. Two glowing rings encompassed the dark-haired boy, and where shy, pitiable Danny Fenton once stood, brave, heroic Danny Phantom was now.

--------------------------------------------------------------

While splitting the story into sections, I was so happy to see that this section ended right here! Very cool. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update on Sunday, so you'll have to wait until next Wednesday.


	23. 23

**Author's Note: **I couldn't update any sooner because we went on vacation and just got back. So, no, I'm not evil.

Someone asked if Paulina is so dumb and shallow, why put her with Danny? Well, why not? Mostly, my reason is because I just wanted to write something new and not so predictable. Of course they aren't meant for each other. Her only true purpose in the show is to foil Sam and make Danny's decision to be with Sam in the end more meaningful(and we all know this is going to happen).

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Faraway, but at the same time very close, the faded melody of a romantic song that the disk jockey had abandoned rose and rested somewhere on the edge of her mind. Someone was singing, asking if it could it be magic; could it be magic at last?

_Danny's the ghost boy? _

Paulina watched him fly towards the Lunch Lady, his body glowing with ghostly energy. She saw his eyes, bright green, filled with determination. _Danny's eyes…those are _Danny's _eyes! Impossible! How can this be? There's no way! _

She watched him blast the Lunch Lady, slamming her into a wall. All of the other students and teachers, except Sam and Dash, ran out of the gym, screaming. _And yet…it all makes sense. _

Why Danny would often be late to class…why he would sometimes just take off suddenly…why he constantly fell asleep during school hours…why his arm kept going through his locker…why the ghost boy always seemed to appear wherever he was…why Danny was never anywhere to be found when the ghost boy was around…it was because he _was_ the ghost boy.

_I'm so stupid._ Paulina put a hand to her head. _Of course, why didn't I see it before? It's so obvious. I mean, they even _look_ alike._ _Danny Fenton…Danny Phantom…d'uh!_ She laughed, but the sound was pained. _We should seriously listen to Kwan more often._

"You children don't get enough meat these days!" roared the Lunch Lady, hovering over Danny menacingly.

"Oh, shut up," muttered Danny, not in the mood to respond with any "witty banter." He threw a ball of ectoplasmic energy at her, but the Lunch Lady deflected it with a fortress of hot dogs.

Paulina turned to Tucker. "Tucker, Danny—Danny's the ghost boy!"

Tucker raised a brow and nodded. "No kidding, Paulina."

"And…and you knew that…we knew that…" said Paulina. _Sam knew that,_ she silently corrected.

"_Yeah_, Paulina. We knew that. We were there when it happened," said Tucker, "In fact, it was your fault, remember?"

"Was it?" Paulina's head was swimming.

"Yeah," said Tucker.

The Lunch Lady used a string of sausages to grab Danny around the waist and threw him across the room. He crashed into Sam, who was hanging onto Dash out of fear. She was torn from his arms as she skidded across the floor with Danny. When they finally came to a stop, Sam was on top of the ghost. She blushed and quickly sat up. Danny held his head with one hand and moaned.

"Are you okay?" asked Sam, wringing her hands uncertainly.

Danny smiled and nodded. "I'm fine. How are you?"

Before Sam could respond, Dash ran over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked.

"Go _away_, Dash!" Sam snapped, roughly taking her hand out of his, "I want to be with the ghost boy right now!"

Danny slowly stood, still holding his aching head. Dash scowled at him.

"Danny!" Tucker shouted from across the room. Danny looked up in time to see the Lunch Lady send a barrage of meat at them. Danny quickly grabbed Sam and Dash and moved them out of the way.

"Don't touch me!" yelled Dash, pulling away from him.

"You're welcome," said Danny, rolling his eyes.

Paulina gripped a table for support. It was too much for her to take in. Everything seemed to have just fallen on her.

"Paulina, are you feeling okay?" asked Tucker, gently taking hold of her around the waist, steadying her.

"I don't know," said Paulina, "I need to sit down…" She collapsed to the floor. Tucker knelt beside her.

"Tuck, Fenton Thermos!" gasped Danny. The Lunch Lady was strangling him with the same string of sausages.

Tucker swiftly stood, grabbed a Thermos from a bag he always stashed somewhere when they went to events like this, and threw it to Danny.

Danny blasted the Lunch Lady away and caught it, promptly taking the top off. He aimed it at the ghost. A swirling vortex dominated the Lunch Lady, sucking her into it. Danny replaced the top and sighed, vexed.

"You did it! Yay!" cheered Sam. She jumped up and down, ecstatic. Dash gritted his teeth.

Danny grinned, but the sound of something powering up behind him made him drop the Fenton Thermos. Tucker ran and caught it before it could hit the floor and possibly release the Lunch Lady.

Danny, still floating in the air, turned around to see Valerie in her ghost-hunting suit. She looked livid with rage.

Paulina and Sam both gasped. Paulina recognized her as the girl that had attacked them on Dash's roof that one night. She saw the same understanding dawn in Sam's eyes. _Of course…at the moment, she's me. She remembers, too. _

Danny descended to the ground and held up his hands. "Look, we don't have to do this now—"

"I'll do whatever I want whenever I want," said Valerie, still pointing the gun at him. She was about to pull the trigger when Dash suddenly slammed into her, knocking the weapon out of her hands. Valerie slid into a table.

"Good job, Dash!" exclaimed Sam, thinking that the jock was trying to save the ghost boy.

Dash looked the weapon over before aiming it at Danny. He powered it up to its full potential again. Valerie was too groggy to make sense of what was going on.

Danny, stunned, backed away, "Dash, hey, you know—"

"Shut up! You've ruined _everything_! Why would Sam choose someone like _you_ over _me_?" growled Dash.

_Dash…he wants me that much?_ Paulina got to her feet. Something started within her. He was pointing the gun at Danny, the boy who had done so much for her in the past few days.

Dash pulled the trigger, but not before Sam and Paulina ran into him at the same time, throwing him to the floor, causing his aim to falter. The blast missed Danny and went through a window instead, shattering it. The halfa recovered his senses and flew outside through a wall.

"Dash, you jerk! You horrible jerk!" cried Paulina, forgetting who she was supposed to be for the moment. Dash stood, still holding the gun.

"You better not _ever_ do anything like that again!" Sam yelled at him, "I hate you! You make me sick!" She pulled out a cell phone and stomped away. "Papa? Come pick me up right now."

Paulina was about to shout at the jock some more, but he pushed her aside. "Get lost, geek!" he snapped.

Valerie, whose head meanwhile had finally cleared, came and grabbed the gun from him. She smacked his face with it. "If anyone is going to waste that ghost kid, it's going to be me!" She flew off on her jet sled.

Tucker went to Paulina's side. "Wow, can you believe what just happened?"

Paulina thought about it all and slowly shook her head with conscious deliberation. "No, actually…I can't."

Danny ran in just then, no longer in ghost-mode. He asked rapidly, "Are you guys okay?"

Tucker nodded. "Yeah, we're fine. You?"

Danny put a hand to his chest and nervously laughed. "My pulse is still racing."

Dash came up to him, took a fist, and slammed him in the stomach. He then threw the smaller boy into a table, causing it to fall over. The jock angrily tramped away.

Paulina still felt dizzy. _I never realized Danny went through so much… _

Danny mumbled a quiet "thank-you" and attempted to get up, clutching his stomach. Tucker helped him regain his balance.

"I'm still his favorite," said Danny, chuckling, "I guess he has to let his anger out on someone."

"Danny?" a voice called. Valerie, wearing her red dress again, ran up to him. She could see he was in pain. "What happened?"

Danny straightened and shook his head. "Nothing."

They could hear the music again, as if the volume had suddenly been turned up. The voice was no longer asking about magic, but claiming that he was music and that he wrote the songs that made the whole world sing.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "You know, it's ironic that the guy who sings this didn't _actually_ write it."

Valerie glared at him. "You're missing the point, Tucker." She listened closely to the lyrics. "It's not about some guy writing songs, it's about the inspiration of music."

Danny smiled appreciatively at her. "Are you always able to find the hidden beauty and truth in the world?"

Valerie playfully punched him. "Oh, don't get all dreamy on me."

Hidden beauty and truth? Paulina mulled the thought over in her mind. Yes, she discovered hidden truth in Danny being the ghost boy, but beauty? Was she happy with the find? At the moment, all she felt was shock.

Danny looked around at the mess of upset tables, turned-over chairs, and broken glass. "Wow, I wonder who's going to have to clean this up?"

"Let's go before Lancer comes back and makes _us_ clean this up like he always does," said Tucker.

The four left the gym. Paulina lagged behind the others. She stared at Danny, wondering how she could've ever fallen in love with a loser.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Well, this was why section 8 was so important. Originally, the part involving Dash and Paulina wasn't part of the story, but while I was planning this part, I was like, "Ah! Now I have to develop _Dash!_" So, yes, that's why that seemingly pointless part in section 8 was put in.


	24. 24

**Author's Note: **Just saying this because several people commented on it. The part about Danny being a loser in the last section? If you notice, it says that _Paulina_ was _wondering_, so the whole part was actually her thought written in third person. The shock was so great that she was just wondering how it could've possibly happened in the first place. Not saying that she thinks he's a loser at the moment, but that she fell in love with him when she really did think of him as one. That was only her _initial _reaction. There hasn't been time for her to let it all sink in yet. Sorry, that's my fault. I should've thought of a better way to portray that feeling. I'll fix it when I rewrite this story.

I _knew _someone would be smart enough/brave enough to ask about Dash's actions and how they didn't coincide too much with "Micro Management." I expected the comment to come much earlier rather than the day I update, though. From Wednesday until today, it was, "Wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...huh, maybe nobody's going to—_BAM!_ There it is!" Anyway, it wasn't like bottled-up jealousy or something that had been brewing within him for sometime. Yeah, we know that Dash likes Danny Phantoma lot, but he's just so two-dimensional that we don't know the full essence of his feelings. Someone like Dash could easily be jealous of Danny, but we just don't know. It was really just heat-of-the-moment rage, not something that he had been feeling for a long time. Plus, that part had only one purpose, and that was to complete Paulina's new view of him. Of course, now you might be thinking, "But Dash's reaction in Reality Trip! How does that work?" Well, I kind of thought that reaction was fake as well since it also suggested he isn't as arrogant as he seems to be, and we _know_ he is. Plus, I wrote all that _before_ Reality Trip, so yeah.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

The following morning, Paulina felt exhausted. She had not gotten a whole lot of sleep the night before. Her mind was befuddled with her new discovery. The thoughts that ran through her head weren't even clear. They tangled and jumped around wildly, gave her a headache, caused insomnia to consume her.

She felt better that morning, though. She let out a sigh and mused on the realization of Danny Fenton being Danny Phantom as well. What exactly was it that made her like the ghost boy in the first place? What attracted her to him and made her shun Danny Fenton? If they were one and the same, why did she have different feelings about each?

_Because I was blind_, she thought, _I couldn't see what so obvious_… Everything made sense to her now, from how the ghost boy seemed to know her so well to why Danny and Tucker had trouble answering her questions about Danny Phantom.

_Well, my wish wasn't wasted after all, I guess. I found out more about the ghost boy._ She looked at her picture of Danny Phantom on Sam's wall. _Maybe too much._ Normally, when she looked at a picture of the ghost, she felt giddy and light, but now, she only felt guilt. _He knew I liked his ghost side…He _knew. _How embarrassing!_ She tried to shake off the horrible feeling within her. Now that she knew who the ghost boy really was, she could feel her love for him dwindling, but she wasn't sure if it was because of shame or disgust.

She got out of bed and tore down the picture of Danny Phantom.

-DP-

A little later, Paulina finished her shower and reentered Sam's room, a black towel around her body and another wrapped around her hair. Sam's cell phone rang just as she was about to apply some lotion to her skin. She walked over to the dressing table it was resting on and picked it up, sitting down in Sam's chair. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Paulina. It's Danny. Do you want to see a movie today?_" asked the voice on the other end.

"Oh, what movie?" asked Paulina. Her words were forced and awkward. Did she really want to see a movie with the boy? She knew that she could never look at him the same way again…still, he had done so much for her in the past week.

"_Uh, I don't know—Tucker suggested it—something like…Litterbox Warriors 5?_"

"Ooh! Kitty-N's new movie!" squealed Paulina, despite herself, "I love her!" Her cheeks tinged, embarrassed by her girlish outburst. "I mean, Kitty-N is a great actress, so her movie _must_ be good."

"_Yeah, well, it sounds incredibly Japanese to me,_" said Danny, "_So, you wanna go? It'd be really cool you could come._"

"Oh…" Paulina bit her lip. He didn't know about her wish. He truly thought of her as one of his best friends. If she hid it, he wouldn't know her discomfiture. After all, she really wanted to see the movie. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. I'd love to go."

"_Okay, cool! Jazz said she'd take us since she has to get some supplies for school._" Danny chuckled. "_School supplies, seriously…So, we'll pick you up in about an hour, okay?_"

Paulina nodded, forgetting that Danny couldn't see her.

_"Paulina? You still there?_"

Paulina laughed. "Oh, sorry. Yes, an hour. Okay. I'll see you!" She hung up and set the phone aside. She unfurled the towel around her hair and rubbed her scalp with it. She glimpsed the photo of herself with Danny tacked to the rim of the mirror. Even with the events of last night, there was something about that picture that made her happy. It was as if…as if she and Danny really _were_ best friends, as if they really enjoyed the company of one another. It was like having a true friend; something, she realized, that she had never actually had before.

_I wish I could keep it forever,_ she thought, _But I can't…everything has to eventually go back to the way it was. I should wish to be myself again and for Sam to have her life back soon. I'm starting to miss my own house, my own parents._

She stood and grabbed a container of lotion. _I suppose it can wait until after the weekend, though. A couple more days with real friends…_

-DP-

In the theater, Paulina sat in between Danny and Tucker. While the boys somewhat noisily snacked on popcorn and soda, Paulina discreetly sipped her pink lemonade. She tried to focus on the movie, but her thoughts kept turning to the boy sitting next to her: Danny, the ghost who had saved her several times before; Danny, the loser who made frequent and pathetic attempts to be popular.

She unknowingly was staring at him. When Danny caught her in the act, she blushed and quickly turned away.

-DP-

For the rest of the weekend, the three enjoyed each other's company among walks around the town, chocolate milkshakes, and random ghost fights. Paulina watched Danny fight the ghosts with fascination and pride. Even though she knew that underneath that heroic, glowing form was a shy, unpopular dork, he still tugged at her heartstrings in a most peculiar way.

Wasn't her love for him diminishing, though? Sunday evening, she mulled the thought over as she watched the two boys playing a video game together at Tucker's house. She observed Danny, his blue eyes staring at the television screen intently, his black hair hanging over his forehead, his mouth curled into a determined smile.

_He's so adorable!_ thought Paulina fondly, swinging her legs that were hanging off the edge of Tucker's bed to and fro. _And, he's just a great friend. So much fun. Sam's so lucky to have him. _

It was then that Paulina realized she wanted him for herself. Perhaps it wasn't that her love for the ghost boy had faded, but that the discovery of how real he was made her love him even more; not just one half of him, but both halves.

Danny sat down next to her while Tucker cheered loudly. Danny laughed and said, "Man, Tucker _always_ wins that game."

Paulina, without hesitation, wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a big hug. "Thank-you for a wonderful week," she said.

Danny flushed in her grasp. Paulina pulled away, her cheeks tinted pink as well. Practically breathless with emotion, she said, "I feel like the luckiest girl in the world."

Danny looked at the ground. "Paulina, um…"

"I'll be right back," said Tucker as he left the room.

Paulina studied Danny. He looked uncomfortable.

"Paulina, I've been trying to say this for a while, but I just had trouble with it…" Danny trailed off, still not looking at her.

Paulina stared at him. She knew what he wanted to say. It was so obvious that he liked Sam, after all.

_No!_ shouted Paulina in her head, _No, he can't like Sam! He likes me, I know he does!_ She wanted to hear him say the words, but not to her as Sam, to the _real_ Paulina.

She had to stop this. "Danny, I think I know what you want to say."

Danny blinked and looked at her incredulously. "You do?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry…" She put her hand on his shoulder. "I just don't feel the same way."

Danny lowered his eyes. "Oh."

Paulina hated the crestfallen look in his eyes. She hated seeing him look so dejected, but she knew it had to be done so that Danny could truly be hers.

Tucker came in some time later. Paulina took notice of his disappointment.

---------------------------------------------------

For those of you who don't like what just happened, don't worry. You can't possibly predict the outcome of this story unless you were some sort of genius with the gift to make very accurate conclusions based on limited information. If you happen to be a genius like that, well...do you want to be friends? All I need is a genius to complete my collection of friends.


	25. 25

**Author's Note: **Why did Paulina do something so selfish, even after all of the changing and development she had gone through? Because she is still Paulina, and she still wants her way, and she'll still do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Nothing has happened to make her think differently about this, so that is why that part of her is still there. People don't change too dramatically _that_ quickly.

Plus, I mean, I suppose I don't expect any of you to really understand this, but just think about it. It wasn't _really_ so much an act of selfishness so much as it was an act of _desperation_, a spur-of-the-moment decision. In just one moment, she realized she loved him, and then in the next moment, she was losing all chances of being with him? That, along with her natural selfishness(and some minor jealousy), is what truly drove her to do what she did. The above explanation is just an easier way of thinking about it. I'd prefer you to go with this explanation, though.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

She should've wished to change back the night before, she knew that, but as she went through school the next day, she just wasn't sure if she was ready to go back yet. She missed her parents and her own room, but she didn't want to leave Danny yet. If she made the wish for everything to go back to the way it was, would she lose him forever?

_He _does_ have a crush on me,_ she thought, _I guess it would be okay. Still, I really want him to like _me, _not the way I look, which is, I think, the real reason he likes me._

As the final bell rang, she made a decision. _Well, I'll just have to get him to like the real me, that's all! Easy enough…_

"So, Tucker got detention for looking at that magazine during class," said Danny with a laugh as he stood with Paulina next to his locker, "I _told_ him not to, but did he listen?"

"It's better he learn the hard way," said Paulina, "It'll teach him."

"Hi, Danny!" said Sam, walking up behind him. Danny smiled shyly.

Paulina gritted her teeth. She wanted to talk to Danny _alone_. "Would you please leave?"

"Oh, shut up," said Sam, "Why would anyone want to talk to you?" She grinned and moved in closer to Danny. "Why would _Danny_ want to talk to you? Does he just feel sorry for you? You should do the world a favor and kill yourself."

Paulina felt a gasp catch in her throat. She promptly dashed away down the hall.

"Paulina!" Danny yelled. He started to run after her, but Sam grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Don't worry about _her._ What do you see in that geek, anyway?" asked Sam.

Danny shoved her off. "You know what? Stay away from me." His tone was calm and even, but it held the hint of a threat. He ran off to find Paulina, who had already sprinted out of the school doors.

Sam watched him leave, then shrugged. Star and Dash came up to her. She greeted Star, but ignored Dash.

-DP-

Paulina ran. She ran outside and still didn't stop. She ran not from hurt feelings, but from shame of seeing how she really was.

She could hear Danny calling her, but she kept going. _That wasn't Sam; that was me!_ Her chest ached with the weight of the horrible truth.

Danny finally caught up to her and seized her arm. "Paulina, wait!"

Paulina slipped out of his grasp and kept going. Danny took hold of her again and finally got her to stop. She slowly turned to him, her eyes averted.

"Paulina, don't let her get to you! You're usually so much tougher than this," said Danny. He seemed genuinely concerned.

"I'm not letting her get to me," said Paulina quietly, "That's not why I ran away."

Danny took her hands in his. "Paulina, what is going on? This past week…you haven't been yourself."

"I know," said Paulina. She felt a horrible pressure behind her eyes. "I'm not who you think I am."

"What are you talking about?" asked Danny, "I know who _exactly_ who you are. You're the smartest, coolest—" He paused. "—prettiest girl I know."

Paulina stared at him, her jaw dropped slightly. She only wished he was really talking about her, but she knew he was talking about _Sam._ She realized then that she didn't deserve him. He was so wonderful, so perfect. She had treated him so horribly in the past; why would he ever choose her over someone like…

_Like Sam?_ she thought bitterly.

Danny mistook her reaction. "I know, I know. I know you said you don't feel the same way. I wasn't trying to suggest anything. It's just that I've never seen you like this before."

"Don't worry about it." Paulina turned away. "I'm going to set things right." She'd fix everything. She'd give Danny a valid reason to choose _her_ over that Goth.

"Paulina, don't, please." Danny gently took hold of her shoulders and spun her to face him again. He continued, "You were right. You were always right. Sam's nothing but a shallow, pretty face. I'm totally over her, okay? I hate her."

Paulina felt a wave of grief rush through her. "No!" she cried, her eyes tearing up, "No, don't say that!"

"Why not?" asked Danny, confused.

"Don't hate her," said Paulina, "She didn't mean it. She didn't mean it at all. Please, don't hate her!" _Don't hate me…_

She wanted to pounce at him. What if this was her only chance to hold him and have him truly return the affection? What if she couldn't get him to stop hating her after she changed back?

No, she couldn't do that. Then she would _definitely_ ruin all hope of being with Danny. If she did something as brash as that, then Danny and Sam would get together, and she would only be able to watch it happen.

"I don't understand. Don't _you_ hate her?" Danny asked with a slight shake of his head.

"I do," said Paulina, "I do. I really do, but I'm going to change all that." She spotted Sam's bus and started towards it.

"Paulina, what do you mean?" asked Danny, but he didn't follow her. He let her walk away, and the sadness he had felt the night before came back.

-DP-

In Sam's room, Paulina locked the door and allowed no company as she reflected on everything.

_I hate myself. _She stared up at the ceiling, her eyes unfocused. _The way I really am…_

She shook her head. _No, that's the way I _was._ I'm different now. I am. For sure._

The light outside faded. A few stars twinkled as the sun sunk lower beneath the horizon. Paulina turned her head slightly to look out the window and saw one particularly bright star. She slowly stood and walked over to Sam's wide window, kneeling and putting her head against the glass.

_I can't go on like this, _she thought,_ I have to let Sam have her life back, and I've got to fix mine._

She exhaled heavily and closed her eyes. _I wish for everything to go back to normal. I wish that I had my life back, and Sam had hers._

Something moved behind her. Paulina whirled around to find a girl floating in the air, her skin a bluish color, her hair auburn and unkempt, her clothes torn and faded. She was smiling slyly.

"Delphine," said Paulina. She stood. "Am I dreaming?"

"No," said Delphine, "It's just that I was in the ghost zone before and could only contact you in a dream. I've managed to get out since then." She spoke as if it was no big deal.

"Oh." Paulina wrung her hands and looked down at the floor. "Well, are you going to change everything back?"

"Yes, but first, tell me…" Delphine smirked. "Did you have fun?"

Paulina blinked. "Well, um, yeah, I guess." She furrowed her brow. "At times, yeah, I really did."

"Did you learn anything?"

"Danny's the ghost boy," said Paulina.

Delphine snickered and shook her head. "Well, I was looking for something a bit more _profound_ than that."

Paulina sighed. She started quietly, "I'm—"

"No need to say it. You know what it is. I can see that," said Delphine. She folded her arms. "It was fun for me, let me tell you."

"What do you mean?" asked Paulina.

Delphine came up closer to her and shrugged. "It was just fun to watch you try and figure everything out. You're so dense. Wasn't it obvious from the beginning that that boy was Danny Phantom?"

Paulina sighed. "Yes, it was. I was just too stupid to see it."

"That's for sure," Delphine said.

"Well, um, why didn't I switch bodies with Sam? Why am I still _me_, just in Sam's place?" asked Paulina, wanting to change the subject with a question that had been bothering her.

"Well, d'uh," said Delphine, "I knew the desire of your heart, and as I recall, you didn't actually _want_ to be that 'Goth freak.' I did what you wanted, really."

"Oh," said Paulina, "That makes sense." She sat down on Sam's bed.

Delphine stood before her. She placed an index finger on the girl's forehead and pushed her down on the bed. "Just sleep now. Everything will be fine in the morning."

"Will it?" asked Paulina hazily. Her mind felt exhausted all of a sudden.

"Yes." Delphine smiled, a clever gleam in her eyes.

"Do you think I can get Danny to like me?" Paulina questioned with a small yawn.

"Who knows?" asked Delphine. Her laughter faded into silence as Paulina fell asleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I'll be updating again on Friday because we're going on another vacation for a week after that. (Man, even during the school year, it seems like we're always going on vacation...)


	26. 26

**Author's Note:** You know, it just struck me how dramatically different this turned out to be from what I originally intended. I thought of this story because I was thinking about those stupid Paulina-haters with their stupid reasons for hating her that were just as stupid and shallow as they all claimed her to be. One day, I decided, "Fine. _I'll_ give them something to hate." I planned this to be the first Danny/Paulina fic ever. Basically, what was supposed to happen was this: Paulina asks Danny about ghost boy. Danny says no. Paulina figures he'd tell Sam, so Paulina makes wish. Paulina discovers ghost boy's secret. Paulina falls in love with Danny. Paulina wishes to be changed back. Paulina confesses feelings to Danny. Paulina and Danny live happily ever after. Yeah, stupid right? No real thought. Why? Well, I didn't really want to put too much time and thought into it because I have a very serious dream of being a real, published author, so writing fanfiction, for me, is only a waste of time. As I wrote it, though, I found that I was putting in way more character development then I should've, and this changed from a story of simple romance to one of human nature and how even the shallowest of us all have feelings.

So, since it's not a very typical Danny Phantom fic, I'm not sure how you guys are going to like the ending. I mean, I like it, but that's not saying much since I happen to an extremely open-minded person. So, yeah...just a small warning.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Paulina woke up, but she kept her eyes closed. She didn't know what she would see…she didn't know what she _wanted_ to see. On one hand, she wanted to be herself again, to have her own parents, to enjoy the comfort of her own room, but on the other hand, she wanted to be with Danny.

Finally, she sighed and opened her eyes. She recognized her own ceiling. She sat up. Everything was hers. The room was hers. She was Paulina again, and that meant that Sam had her own life back as well.

She ran a hand through her hair and noticed how tangled it was. She got out of bed, slipped into her bunny slippers, and walked over to her vanity. She picked up her brush and ran it through her hair in an attempt to get the knots out. As she looked at her reflection in her mirror, she noticed something that she didn't remember being there before. She put the brush down and looked closely at the picture tacked to the rim of the mirror.

It was the photo of her with Danny on a couch in his living room; _her,_ not Sam. Paulina's heart soared at the sight of it. _But why is it here? Sam and I have switched back. This should be at her house…that should be _Sam, _not me._

She remembered Delphine's words about how she knew the desires of her heart. She remembered that she had earlier wished that she could keep the picture forever. _Delphine let me keep it? Like I wanted? _

Paulina smiled. She turned to her wall and saw that her picture of Danny Phantom was still there. _It was a cute crush…_ She moved to the wall and gently took the picture down. She rolled it up and placed it in her dresser drawer.

-DP-

Dressed in her normal pink top and blue jeans, Paulina ran downstairs to find her own parents in the kitchen. They were sitting at the table in the middle of the room and talking about some article in the newspaper.

Paulina's breath caught, her heart swelling with love, a feeling she hadn't felt for a long time. It felt so good to be with her own family again. She ran up to her parents and hugged them. "Mama! Papa!"

"Why, good morning, Paulina!" her mother said, a little flustered.

"Where did this come from?" asked her father.

Paulina just giggled and made herself some cereal. She spotted the toaster nearby and turned to her mother. "Mama? Can we go to Denmark someday?"

"Why?" her mother asked.

"I want to get a toaster from there," replied Paulina, "They have floating toasters!"

"Do they now?" Her mother smiled with amusement.

"Where exactly did you hear that?" Her father was skeptical.

Paulina realized then how ridiculous she had sounded and turned back to her cereal. "Oh, nowhere. It was just a dream I had." Then she thought, _Was it all a dream?_

Paulina sat down next to her father and ate heartily. She had never felt so alive and optimistic before.

As soon as Paulina finished eating, the doorbell rang. She sprang up, put her bowl in the sink, and ran to the front door. She opened it to find Dash and Star. Even though she knew that it would be the two popular students at the door, she was still disappointed that it wasn't Danny and Tucker.

"Ready to go?" asked Star, flipping her hair over shoulder and smiling. Dash looked like he didn't know what to say.

"Yes," said Paulina, lacking enthusiasm. She grabbed her bag, called good-bye to her parents, and followed her two friends out.

The three walked together to the bus stop in awkward silence. Finally, Dash blurted out, "Paulina, are you still ignoring me?"

Paulina remembered, when the wish was still in effect, that Sam had told Dash she hated him.

"Oh, don't, Paulina," said Star, "It's in the past. Move on."

Paulina shrugged. "It was still a horrible thing he did." She turned away and mumbled inaudibly, "Everything he does is horrible."

-DP-

As the day went on, Paulina felt a strange emptiness. She was one of the popular kids again, but she felt a twinge of longing whenever she saw Danny, Sam, and Tucker together.

She could feel her old self furiously trying to resurface as she hung out with her old friends, but she forced it down. She didn't want to be that way again. She found herself laughing at some cruel jokes made about more unfortunate students, but she immediately felt bad afterwards. It just wasn't the same anymore.

After school, Paulina stared at her Danny Phantom shrine in her locker. _I have to take this out…_ She reached for a picture of the ghost.

"Paulina!" cried Star, running up to her.

Paulina quickly slammed her locker and turned around. "Oh, hi!"

"Listen, do you have some lip balm I can borrow? I totally forgot mine," said Star.

"Sure," Paulina responded. She knelt and set her bag on the floor so that she could rummage through it easier. She located the pink lip balm and held it out to Star, who promptly took it. As she was kneeling, she felt something pushing against her hip in her pocket. She pulled out the folded picture that she had placed in her pocket earlier, the one with her and Danny in his living room. She had brought it to school with her because she liked looking at it; it reminded her of the most wonderful week of her life. She was about to put the picture back into her pocket as she stood again, but she stopped when she noticed that Dash was in front of her. She instantly forgot the photo in her hand.

"Hi, Paulina!" said the jock, grinning.

Paulina ignored him and turned away. She saw Danny, Sam, and Tucker talking nearby.

"Thanks so much," said Star as she gave the lip balm back to Paulina. The Hispanic girl took it and put it back in her bag.

"Aw, c'mon! Say _something_ to me!" Dash was perturbed. He also spotted Danny and his friends, and he instantly knew how to cheer her up "Hey, look, it's Fentina and his loser friends!"

Paulina narrowed her eyes. Dash went on, "I feel like stuffing him in his locker today. What do you think, Paulina?"

"Stop it, Dash. You have no idea what Danny could do to you." Paulina was livid with rage.

"What _Fenton_ can do to me? What do you mean by that?" asked Dash, getting angry himself.

"Shut up," said Paulina. She started over to where Danny was.

Dash grabbed her arm. "You can't just leave!"

Paulina kicked him as hard she could in his shin. Dash yelped and let her go, grabbing his leg in pain. Star, shocked, just stood there and watched Paulina leave.

Dash snarled and stormed off to find some poor nerd to take his anger out on. Star was about to follow him when Kwan came up and greeted her. She blushed and allowed him to engage her in conversation.

-DP-

"Did you guys see that?" asked Tucker in awe.

Danny and Sam had their backs turned when they heard Dash cry. Tucker was the only one who saw what happened.

"What? Why is Dash yelling?" asked Sam.

"Danny!" Paulina walked up to the three, her face a little flushed.

"You just kicked Dash!" exclaimed Tucker.

"She did?" asked Sam, not believing it. She noticed that Paulina had something in her hand. It looked like a folded photo.

"I did," confirmed Paulina, "He's a jerk." Ill at ease, she looked down at the floor. "Um, Danny, do you want to, um, hang out or something?" she asked shyly.

All three friends were surprised at the timid tone in her voice. No one said anything for a moment.

"Hang out?" Danny finally broke the silence.

"Well, maybe we could just get something to eat?" Paulina had never felt so awkward in her life.

Danny rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "What do you want?" he asked, irked.

It was weird to see him look at her at that, a look that he had never given her before. After a week of being his "best friend," it was strange for their relationship to suddenly change to this. "I just want to talk," said Paulina. She realized then that she was going about this the wrong way.

"No, really. What do you want?" pressed Danny again, "Do you want me to tell you something about Danny Phantom? Or do you maybe just to find out more ways to hurt Sam?"

"Paulina could _never_ hurt me!" snapped Sam. She remembered the previous week, which seemed to be an incredible blur of memories that didn't really seem to be hers. She recalled that Paulina had caused an emotional outburst within her yesterday. How did she do that? She felt disconnected from what she remembered.

Paulina swallowed and took Danny's wrist. "Please—"

Danny pushed her away. "I meant it when I told you to stay away from me."

Sam beamed. She remembered Danny telling her yesterday that he hated Paulina, and she remembered herself telling him to not hate her. Why had she said that? Of course she wanted Danny to hate Paulina.

"Did I miss something? What happened?" asked Tucker, confused. No one answered him.

"I'm sorry," said Paulina quietly.

Danny shook his head. "Whatever."

"No, really, I am." Paulina shifted her weight and cleared her throat. "I was a witch before."

"Yeah, you were," agreed Sam, "and you still are, and you always will be."

Paulina looked into the Goth girl's eyes. "I didn't mean anything I said yesterday or any other time. I understand if you don't forgive me, but I am sorry."

Danny's, Sam's, and Tucker's jaws all dropped.

"Wow, this must be something big," said Danny, "What is that you really want?"

_I want you,_ thought Paulina. "Danny, I just want to talk to you."

Danny looked at her closely. She seemed sincere, but… "No. I'm not falling for it."

Sam applauded. "Way to go, Danny! You saw through her this time! Let's go to my house now."

"No!" wailed Paulina, "Danny, there's something I really want to talk to you about!"

"Don't care," said Danny as he started to walk away with Tucker and Sam.

"No, no, no! Danny, I really need to talk to you!" Paulina grabbed his arm before he could get too far.

Danny turned around, annoyed. He noted silently that she looked desperate. He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Okay." He pointed a finger at her accusingly. "But it better be _really_ important."

"No! Danny, come on!" Sam moaned.

Danny didn't want to go with Paulina, not after what she did, but there was something about the way she looked at him… "I'll meet you and Tucker at your house later, okay? I won't be long," said Danny to Sam.

Sam tried to protest, but Danny and Paulina left before she could say anything. The photo that was in Paulina's hand fluttered to the ground, but she didn't notice.

Tucker picked up the paper, but he didn't unfold it. "She dropped this…"

"Who cares?" Sam, in anger, snatched it from him and threw it into her bag. She'd look at it later. If it was something really important, maybe she could blackmail the girl with it later. _Ah, no…then I'd be stooping to her level…_ She growled. "What an idiot!"

"Who? Paulina or Danny?" asked Tucker.

"Both," replied Sam. She stomped away, putting a dent in a locker with her fist.

"Well, she's the same Sam again," said Tucker, "Last week, she was kind of weird." He ran after the Goth girl.

---------------------------------------------------------

My next update will be Sunday the 23rd unless we get stuck wherever we go(with Space A, that happens quite often). If I don't update by Friday the 28th, you can assume that I am dead and probably won't be updating ever again.


	27. 27

**Author's Note: **Space A is short for Space Available and just means that on certain military flights, if space is available, military personnel can take that flight to another base for free. It's easy to get stuck somewhere with Space A because the military is a real pain in the neck. But, we didn't get stuck, and I did not die, so life is good, and life is fun. It's just so magical.

And I'm sorry about the whole 'this is a waste of time' thing. I didn't really mean it like _that_. It's just, you know, I actually have the rough draft for a book finished that I am now in the process of rewriting. So, I just can't help but think that every sentence I write for a fanfic could've been a sentence for my book that I actually want to to get published.

This section is quite a bit longer than the other sections. I could've split it into two parts, I guess, but I figured I should give you guys a bigger update to make up for the long wait. (If you call eight days a long wait, that is.)

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Danny only wanted to be with Paulina long enough for her to tell him what was on her mind, but she somehow managed to convince him to get something to drink at Nasty Burger.

_I should go,_ thought Danny. _I should tell her to forget it and go meet Sam and Tucker._ He took a sip of his shake. He still felt a strange swooping sensation in his stomach as he sat across from Paulina even though he had earlier decided that he hated her.

He hated her? Danny chewed on his straw. Well, maybe _that_ was a bit harsh. Why should he hate her? Just because she seemed to really hurt Sam the day before? Just because she had used him several times for her own selfish reasons? He looked at her warily. Was she just using him now?

Paulina pulled him into a real conversation. Not a fake one like she usually imposed on him when she just wanted something, but a true conversation, as if she really wanted to talk to him. Danny couldn't help but smile and respond to her questions, offering opinions of his own every now and then.

Danny wasn't sure if this was really happening. Paulina was _actually_ talking to him? She didn't seem to have any hidden motives behind all of this. He lost track of time. The sound of a tray clattering to the floor alerted him to his original plan. He glanced at the nearest clock.

"No!" gasped Danny. "We've been here for two hours? No, no! I was supposed to meet Sam and Tucker!" He turned his head too quickly to look back at Paulina and yelped in pain as his neck cramped with the strain. He put his hands to his neck in an attempt to massage away the soreness.

Paulina laughed, but not unkindly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Danny, wincing. "I have to go." He stood to throw away what was left of his shake.

Paulina jumped up. "Not yet! I still have something I want to talk to you about!" She had been so caught up in the moment of just being with Danny as herself and not as Sam that she had forgotten why she wanted to talk to him in the first place.

"Say it now. I've gotta go," said Danny. He took his and Paulina's trash and threw it in the nearest receptacle.

"Let's take a walk outside…in the park. Please?" begged Paulina.

"Some other time. Maybe—No!" Danny suddenly turned angry eyes on her. "Why did I let you do this? I've got better things to do than hang out with a shallow girl like you!" He pounded his fist on a table. "I can't believe this!"

Paulina could tell that he was fighting his feelings. She could tell that he wanted to be angry, that he wanted to just be over her. _But he's not over me,_ she thought. _If he was, he wouldn't have allowed himself to stay this long._ She smiled inwardly. "Come on, Danny! I promise it's something really important! Just a short walk, okay?" Paulina took his wrist and started to lead him outside.

"Yeah, a short walk. Yeah, right." Danny allowed her to lead him to the street before he pulled away. "I'm going now. I promised Sam and Tucker I'd meet them."

The sun was beginning to set. Clouds of red and orange spanned the golden horizon. Paulina shivered as the wind blew by them. "Please, Danny?" she asked.

He could see nothing hidden behind her eyes. She looked real and more beautiful than she had ever looked before. Why did she look so different all of a sudden?

Danny sighed and rubbed his still-sprained neck. A part of him wanted to stay with her. He said nothing for a few moments. Paulina waited patiently.

"I guess I'm already late," said Danny finally. "A quick walk wouldn't hurt."

Paulina beamed with pleasure, and they entered the closest park. As the sky darkened, the park lamps flickered on.

"Paulina, what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Danny. He stared ahead into the distance.

Paulina looked at him, blushed, then turned away. "Things have been kind of crazy."

Danny remembered Sam's strange behavior the previous week. "Tell me about it," he said with a chuckle.

Paulina exhaled loudly. "Do you really hate me, Danny? Do you really think I'm just a shallow witch?"

Danny was startled by this question. He shrugged and reddened. "Well, um…you're never very nice to me or my friends. In fact, you're _only_ nice to me when you want something, or when I'm temporarily popular, or when you want to hurt someone else." He looked at her. "That's why I'm really suspicious of all this right now."

"I don't blame you," Paulina said. She stopped and sat down on a bench that they almost passed. Danny joined her.

"What is this all about? I'd really like to know." Danny ran a hand through his hair and leaned back to look up at the dimming sky.

Paulina smiled shyly. "I'm different now, Danny. I'm thinking differently." She moved closer to him. "I'm thinking about _you_ differently."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked, confused.

"Danny, you're perfect. You're a great person," said Paulina. "I know you have a crush on me—"

"I _had_ a crush on you," snapped Danny. He folded his arms. "Not anymore." Deep down, he knew that this wasn't entirely true…

Paulina went on as if he had said nothing, "I feel the same way now, Danny."

The boy blinked and furrowed his brow. "You feel the same way? What way is that?"

Paulina's cheeks flushed. "Danny, I love you."

She said it, and she instantly regretted it. _Too fast!_ she thought. _I should've waited until he stopped hating me so much!_ She put a hand to her forehead. _I'm so stupid! _

Danny froze, stunned. For several minutes, he just sat there, his eyes not focused on anything. A single star appeared and twinkled in the sky. Finally, he coughed and asked, "Paulina, what are you trying to do?"

Paulina sighed. "I'm sorry. This was a dumb idea. I shouldn't have been so quick about it."

"What do you want?" asked Danny. His tone was hollow.

"I just wanted to tell you how I feel," said Paulina.

"I don't appreciate this, Paulina." He glared at her. "I don't like you playing around with my emotions."

"I'm not!" cried Paulina. "This is real!"

She stared into his eyes. Danny met her gaze, and in that instant, he believed her. For just a moment, he really thought that she loved him, but then the feeling dissolved, and Danny was skeptical again.

"Stop lying to me. You always lie to me," said Danny, his voice shaking slightly with emotion.

Paulina tried to fight back the tears. He didn't believe her. "I'm different now. Don't you understand?" She made a small chortling noise, but it sounded strained. "It took me so long to realize the horrible person I was." She looked at him again fondly. "I really do love you, Danny, even if you don't feel the same way. I just rushed into it too quickly."

Danny shut his eyes for a few seconds. What was happening here? He hated her! She had hurt him and his friends so many times. He couldn't forgive her.

He remembered Dash's party. He remembered how right it had felt to be with Paulina, how amazing it felt to be so close to her, how near they were to sharing a kiss…

He opened his eyes as a thought struck him. "What about Danny Phantom?"

Paulina blinked the moisture from her eyes. "Hmm?"

"I thought you had a thing for the 'ghost boy,'" said Danny.

"I do," said Paulina, not really thinking.

Danny scoffed. "Ah, I knew it. You can't love both of us, you know."

Realization rushed through her. _He has a crush on Sam because…because he thinks that she's the only girl who could love both halves of him. _She swallowed in silent contemplation. _He doesn't know that I know his secret as well, though._ She realized that she had to tell him what she knew. "Yes, I can," said Paulina. "You _are_ the ghost boy."

A few seconds of silence passed. Danny stared at her. "What did you say?"

"I…" Paulina put her head in her hands. _What was I thinking? I'm so stupid! _

Danny stood, his eyes wide. Without looking at her, he asked quietly, "Who are you?"

Paulina lifted her head up in wonder. "Who am I?" She didn't understand.

"Are you some pathetic ghost that decided to overshadow a girl that you think I have a crush on in order to get my guard down or something? Or to make another ghost jealous? Kitty, is it you again?" Danny whirled around to look at her. He looked angry.

Paulina stood as well. "What are you talking about?"

"You know I'm Danny Phantom, right?"

"I—well—yes. I do." She looked down at the ground.

"Paulina could _never_ figure that out. I mean, she's the dumbest girl on the planet," spat Danny. "So, whoever you are, just get out of her. You're wasting your time."

Paulina cringed. "You think I'm the dumbest girl on the planet?"

"Oh, knock it off." Danny rolled his eyes. He watched her, clearly vexed.

A few moments passed with no movement or talking. Danny finally sighed and said, "Fine. I'll just take you out myself."

Paulina stepped back. "You'll just _what_?"

Danny put a rough hand on her shoulder. Paulina felt her insides tingle as everything blurred and distorted. She felt cold and dizzy. Everything blackened as she lost all motor control.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she started to regain her senses. She sucked in a huge breath and coughed. The world came back into view as she collapsed to the ground.

She panted and put a hand to her chest. Another hand helped her up. Paulina stood to find Danny looking apologetic and bewildered.

"You…you _are_ Paulina," he said, "but how did you figure it out?"

Paulina averted her eyes. "I didn't figure it out exactly. I'm too dumb, you're right. I saw you transform once." It wasn't a lie. It just wasn't the entire truth. _Isn't that lying by omission, though?_ she wondered.

Danny shook his head and sat back down on the bench. "I can't believe this…" He looked back up at her. "Doesn't that bother you, though? I mean, when you found out that Danny Phantom was just some pathetic loser from school…and why haven't you told anyone? Or have you? It seems like something you would do. You couldn't _possibly_ keep a secret like that."

Paulina didn't rejoin him on the bench. She stood nervously. "I didn't tell anyone, and I'm not going to."

Danny studied her. "Why are you acting like this? It's not like you at all."

"I've changed, I guess," responded Paulina. She started playing with her hair, the dark locks entwining around her fingers.

"You've changed?" Danny laughed. "Just yesterday, you were rude and shallow as always. You're trying to tell me that you just _changed_ overnight? Just like that? You don't actually except me to believe—" He stopped. Something clicked in his mind.

"Well…" Paulina was at a loss for words.

Danny thought about Sam's strange behavior the previous week and now Paulina's incredulous claim that she was different and that she knew he was half-ghost. Was there some sort of connection among the events?

_It's a bit farfetched, but maybe…_ He stood up again. "Paulina, um…have you met up with any ghosts within the past week or so? Besides me, of course."

Paulina swallowed. "Ghosts…?" She shrugged, trying to look as innocent as she could.

"Yeah, female ghosts maybe? Perhaps Desiree or Delphine?" He knew that these were the only two ghosts that would be extreme enough to alter reality in such a way. _In what way, though?_ he wondered.

Paulina was uneasy now. "Delphine?"

Danny nodded and smirked. "Yeah, Delphine. She plays on people's desires and emotions for her own sadistic pleasure, though she claims it's just to teach them a lesson." He chuckled. "Last time I listened to her, I was almost hit by a train."

"Really? What did you wish for?" asked Paulina.

Danny paused, then grinned slyly and folded his arms. "How'd you know she grants wishes?"

Paulina flinched. "You, uh, said she did."

"No, I didn't." Danny's grin widened.

"Well…" Paulina shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "I don't know. Delphine just sounds like the name of someone who would grant wishes."

Danny burst into a laughing fit. He clutched his side with the force of it. "Wow, you are _so_ dumb!"

Paulina turned away, crestfallen.

Danny stopped laughing, realizing he had hurt her feelings. "Oh, no. Sorry. I didn't mean that in a bad way—Well, I guess I did, but—Sorry." He blushed.

Paulina shook her head. "It's okay. It's true." She moved closer to him. "It's also true that I love you."

Danny stared at her, unblinking. She seemed earnest.

"I wish I had realized this feeling when you still had a crush one me," the Latina went on. "I wish you didn't hate me now." She smiled. "Well, you should go meet your friends. I'm sorry I wasted your time."

She turned to leave, but Danny stopped her.

"Wait," he said. "Hold on. Let me just think this over."

Paulina halted and watched him look into the distance, his eyes glazed over. In the fading light, they almost seemed to glow.

He pondered the situation. Earlier, he had absolutely despised Paulina, but now…she awoke a feeling inside of him, reminded him of how he had felt when he danced with her on Dash's roof. It felt amazing, magical...perfect. He hadn't felt like a young boy with a crush; he had felt like someone _in love_.

In love with Paulina? His eyes widened. He had already decided that he loved Sam. He couldn't possibly feel that way about Paulina as well!

_But Sam doesn't like you_, a voice in his head said. _She told you herself, remember? Just forget about her. Move on._

_Yes, but she was acting so strangely last week. What if she didn't really mean that?_ countered Danny.

_Well, she's back to normal now, isn't she? She would've surely corrected it by now if she didn't really mean it,_ said the voice.

Danny lowered his eyes. _That's true,_ he thought. _If she really _does_ feel the same way…but I guess she doesn't, so why bother? _

He remembered the day he had first met Sam, a little girl sitting on a swing, kicking her legs and wearing a light blue shirt. Her black hair, which was longer back then, fell just below her shoulder blades and was pulled back with two spider clips on the sides of her head. When Danny first saw her, talked to her, he knew she was different from all of the other girls in his class. She was the most amazing girl he had ever met.

Years later, when her outlook on life darkened, she was sitting on another swing reading a book about, perhaps, a bloody countess or some other morbid subject. It was three months after he received his ghost powers. Her hair elegantly shaped her face and touched the line of her shoulders, a few disordered strands swaying in the wind. She didn't see him nearby. She didn't see him staring at the outline of her figure against the red and orange sky.

_I love you_, he said to the girl on the swing. They were the words that he wanted to tell her ever since that day, though he didn't know it himself. She didn't answer him, didn't look up.

_I love you_, he said again to the girl on the swing. She turned a page, then slowly looked up to meet his gaze. Her defined, sensual mouth formed her words with firm precision: _But I don't love you._

Another girl with Hispanic features entered the reverie. She smiled and walked up to him, her arms held out, as if to say that she had nothing to hide. _But _I_ love you,_ she told him. _Not just one part of you. All of you. I'm the only other girl who can truly feel this way about you._ She gestured to the girl on the swing. _She doesn't feel anything for you, obviously. I love you, and you feel the same way._

Everything he felt for the girl on the swing transferred to the girl before him. _Why should that happen?_ he wondered, but he already knew that it was because Sam didn't seem to return any of the feelings he had for her.

"Danny?" came Paulina's voice.

Danny slowly turned back to her. His eyes casually moved to her face, as if by accident. "Paulina." He gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "I don't really know, but…I think I feel the same way."

Paulina beamed. "Really?"

"Yeah, but is this some sick prank of yours?" he asked, still a little disbelieving. "I mean, are a bunch of your friends going to jump out and makes jokes about how stupid I am?"

Paulina giggled. "No, no. This is all real." She smiled coyly. "I'd kiss you, but I think that would be rushing things a bit."

Danny flushed. "I don't think so."

He leaned into her. Paulina felt her chest bend back with the pressure of his. When his mouth met hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and she felt his go around her waist.

Neither knew how much time had passed when they finally broke apart. Paulina felt a surge of triumph, of soundless victory.

"Shouldn't you go meet Sam and Tucker now?" asked Paulina, her hands moving from his neck to his shoulders.

"It's too late now," replied Danny. He put his forehead against hers. He had waited so long for this, and now it was actually happening.

"Oh, I'm sorry for keeping you so long," Paulina apologized.

Danny shook his head. "It's okay. They'll understand." He knew that they really wouldn't, especially Sam, but he didn't want Paulina to feel too guilty.

"Well, then…" She twirled a strand of his hair. "Tell me, what's it like to fly?"

Danny pondered how to put the idea into words for a moment. "It's a lot like…swimming, I guess, except you can go much faster and you're above everything instead of below it. Oh, and you can breathe."

Paulina said tentatively, "I'd like to experience that."

Danny smiled, quickly glanced around, and transformed. Paulina watched in amazement as he changed right before her eyes, in her arms. She jumped back, a little surprised by the suddenness of it.

He held out a white gloved hand to her, just like before when he asked her to dance. Paulina took it and allowed him to lift her into the air. She remembered the star she had made a wish on only a week before. Part of the sun was still visible above the horizon, and only a few stars were out. To Paulina, they all felt lucky.

-DP-

"Ridiculous!" shrieked Sam. Down in her basement, she felt like breaking something. She decided to just hit Tucker with a pillow instead. "It's dark now! Where is he?"

Tucker tried to block the blow of the pillow with his arms. "Easy, Sam!"

Sam growled and flopped into a chair, throwing the pillow aside. "Stupid Paulina! She ruins everything!"

Tucker sighed and checked his watch. "Sam, I've gotta get going. I still have homework." He stood. "I'm sure Danny has a good reason for skipping out on us."

"Yeah, hanging out with _Paulina_…" She moaned. "He said he hated her. Why would he want to _be_ with her?" She put her hand to her mouth in horror. "What if it was a trick? What if Danny was the center of some horrible prank set up by Paulina and her friends?"

Tucker rolled his eyes. "I'm sure Danny is _fine_, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" He started to leave, but then he stopped abruptly. He quickly turned around. "Sam, why did you do that?"

Sam stared at him. "Why did I do what?"

He rushed up to her. "Why did you tell Danny that you didn't like him? I finally got him to realize his own feelings, and then you—you—_why_?"

Sam's mouth fell open. It came to her suddenly…Sunday evening, Danny was about to confess his feelings, but she had cut him off for some reason.

"You two are driving me crazy! Danny didn't ask you to the dance, and then you tell him you _don't_ like him?" Tucker sounded aggravated.

"I…" Sam swallowed. "I don't know." She shook her head. "Everything I did last week, it's like…I remember doing it, but I don't remember _thinking_ about it. I don't remember thinking at all about anything."

Tucker gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

Sam shook her head. "It just feels like I was doing things mindlessly, you know?"

Tucker shrugged. "No, I don't." He turned to go again. "I don't know what was going on with you last week, but just tell me something…" He studied her attentively. "Do you like Danny?"

Sam blinked, then, in a trance, nodded. "Yes. Yes, very much so."

"And Danny _does_ feel the same way," said Tucker, "so promise me that you'll fix this all up, okay?"

He left. Sam was alone to wonder where her half-ghost friend was.

She let out a big breath and turned out the lights in the basement. She slowly ascended the stairs to her room. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and opened her window curtains. She stared outside into the night.

_This past week…I almost don't feel like it was really _me_ that lived it._ She frowned. _I mean, I have the memories and everything, but it still doesn't feel real._

She said aloud, "Danny, wherever you are, I just want you to know that…" She stopped. She knew her feelings, but voicing them out loud, even to herself, was a difficult task, especially since she wasn't sure if Danny felt the same way. _Yeah, Tucker says he does,_ she thought, _and he seemed about to say so on Sunday, but he didn't actually say it, so how can I really be sure? _

She stood up, the full impact of what she had said to Danny hitting her. _Why_ _did I say that?_ she wondered. _Why did I tell him that I didn't feel the same way? _

_I have to fix it,_ she soundlessly decided. _I have to tell him the truth. I have to tell him how I really feel._ She wanted to tell him right at the moment. She again wondered where he was, then remembered that he had gone with Paulina somewhere. _Why is he taking so long, though? Perhaps he met up with a ghost._ She wanted to believe that this was true, but the pessimist within her wouldn't let her.

_Stupid Paulina!_ She remembered the photo the Hispanic girl had dropped before. Without hesitating, Sam crossed the room to her bed, where she had placed her school bag earlier to later remind her to do her homework. She rummaged through the bag and pulled out the picture. She roughly unfolded the paper and stared at it.

It was a picture of Danny and Paulina on his couch. Sam blinked in wonder. _Wait, what? When did this happen?_ She cocked her head. _This looks just like…like _my_ picture…_

She rushed to her mirror and gasped. The picture of her and Danny in his living room that was normally tacked to the rim of her mirror was gone.

She stared back down at the photo in her hand. There was no doubt that it was the exact same picture she used to have except that instead of herself, she saw Paulina. _How can this be?_ She gaped. _Did she steal it and doctor it? But why would she do such a stupid, pointless thing? And it's done so well…where did she learn to do _that?

She'd have to demand an explanation from Paulina later. She'd have to get the real picture back from the Latina…

Something glowing and moving in the sky caught her eye. She walked back to her wide window and opened it so that she could lean out further to see what it was. She instantly recognized the shining, ghostly form as Danny, but he wasn't alone. There was someone else with him.

Her breath caught in her throat. Paulina! He was flying with Paulina!

She collapsed to the ground, too shocked to make real sense of what was going on. A million questions flitted around in her head. Why were they together? What happened earlier between them? Did he reveal his identity to Paulina? Why had he transformed? Was there a ghost fight or something? And the picture, the picture! What was up with the picture?

So many questions demanded answers, but one screamed louder than the others. Sam felt a horrible weight bearing down on her. _What about me?_

----------------------------------------------------------

This was extremely hard for me to write. There were just so many emotions that I had to portray to make it work. So, if you want to review, just know that I am already aware that some of the parts are kind of, uh, _strained._


	28. 28

**Author's Note: **It both amazes and pleases me that people that hate Paulina and the Danny/Paulina pairing are actually reading this, but I must know...is it because you hope she'll eventually get hit by a truck and you want to behere if it happens, or because you are not entirely limited in your thinking?

I'm far from a typical Danny Phantom fanfiction writer. I will gladly make characters I like look bad and characters I don't like look good if it'll make a story better in any way. I guess it's kind of late to say this now, but this probably isn't for fans who are like, "Danny and Sam forever! I kill Paulina dead! Fake-out make-out, they must be in love!" (All of my Danny Phantom fan friends are like this, and it drives me crazy. I dare not ever tell them I wrote this.)

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

Tucker's jaw dropped at the sight he saw the following morning before school.

Danny, leaning against a row of lockers, had his arm draped over Paulina's opposite shoulder while her arm went around his waist. They were both blushing with happiness as they smiled at Tucker.

"When—what—_when did this happen_?" the techno geek exclaimed.

"Yesterday," responded Danny.

"You mean when you were supposed to be with us?" asked Tucker. "You and Paulina got together when you were supposed to be with _us_?" He shook his head. "You—what—_what_?"

"Tuck, I'll explain at lunch," Danny said. Paulina sighed dreamily.

_This is going to break Sam's heart,_ thought Tucker.

-DP-

Sam peeked around the corner of the row of lockers. She could see Danny and Paulina in an embrace. Tucker stood before them. The whole scene made her sick.

That morning, she had looked through her closet for something to wear, anything that would maybe impress Danny. She found the outfit that she had bought at the mall a little over a week ago, the outfit that Danny had picked out for her. She wore it now, the attire hugging her form.

She wanted to go out and talk to Danny, but she felt self-conscious. Paulina being with him made her mad and uneasy. She had no idea what had happened between the two the previous evening, but the ideas that subconsciously went through her mind made her blood hot.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. _Come on, Sam. Paulina's probably just using Danny, and Danny's just being his normal, oblivious self. I'm sure they won't be together long. This has to be some sort of joke. Danny will realize that, I'm sure._

She righted herself and walked out to meet them.

-DP-

Tucker was the first to see her. "Whoa," he said. Danny swallowed. Paulina frowned.

Sam, in her long-sleeved black shirt with twisting deep purple designs, short black skirt with silver chains dangling from it, and tight black boots that stopped just above her shins, smiled in embarrassment. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," said Danny, pulling away from Paulina.

He came closer and looked her over. Sam blushed, secretly pleased with the attention.

"That's the outfit I picked out, right?" Danny nodded, grinning. "It looks great on you!"

Paulina scowled. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Danny, I'm cold. Can you warm me up?" Sam glared at her.

Dash walked by just then. He stopped when he saw Paulina hugging Danny. "What's all this?" he demanded. "I thought you liked Danny Phantom!"

Paulina looked up at Danny fondly and said, "I _love_ Danny Phantom." Tucker raised a brow.

Dash reddened with rage. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Danny and I are together now," Paulina said simply.

Sam growled. Tucker put a hand on her shoulder.

Dash looked first at Paulina, then Danny, then back at Paulina. "You'd prefer _him _over _me_?"

Paulina averted her gaze and said nothing. Danny coughed and stared at the ground. Dash was upset, but also sad. He walked away.

As soon as the jock was out of sight, Tucker asked Danny, "Does she know you're…?"

"Danny Phantom?" the boy finished for him. "Yes, she knows."

The bell rang. Danny laughed at the confused look on Tucker's face. "I'll explain at lunch, okay? See you two in Home Ec.." Holding hands, Danny and Paulina left the two and disappeared around a corner.

Tucker turned to Sam. "I'm really sorry, Sam."

"Shut up," said the Goth girl. "Just leave me alone."

A little hurt, Tucker walked away. Sam instantly regretted her words and wanted to call after him, but stopped herself. She tried to fight the torrent of emotions within her as she went her own way.

-DP-

When the middle of the day arrived, Danny and Paulina entered the cafeteria together. They spotted Sam and Tucker already sitting at their usual table.

"Paulina, I think it would be better if I explained things to them without you," said Danny.

"Why?" asked Paulina.

"Well, mostly because of Sam."

"Oh, right," said Paulina, understanding. "Well, I'll just wait in that ridiculously long line and get something to eat." She gestured to the lunch line. "See you later!" She gave him a quick kiss and skipped away.

Danny softly smiled before joining Sam and Tucker.

"Alright, Danny. What's going on?" asked Tucker.

"She's just using you, you know," said Sam.

Danny shook his head. "No, she's not. I mean, I didn't believe her at first, when she said she loved me—"

"She _said_ that?" Tucker's eyes widened.

"Why did you tell her you were Danny Phantom?" asked Sam, wanting to get off the topic of Paulina loving Danny.

"I didn't tell her. She figured it out," said Danny.

"Yeah, right! Paulina is _way_ too dumb!" cried Sam.

"That's exactly what I said." Danny laughed. "I thought she was being overshadowed or something, but nope, it was just her. She said she saw me transform once." He leaned in closer. "I think a certain ghost named _Delphine_ might have helped her out, though."

"Delphine? The crazy ghost girl that almost got you hit by a train? Why do you think _she_ had something to do with it?" asked Tucker.

Danny shrugged. "I don't really know. Just something Paulina said. It might be connected to Sam's weird behavior last week, though."

"Whatever, man. You and your strange ideas," said Tucker.

Sam pulled out the picture Paulina had dropped the day before and slid it across the table to Danny. Danny, confused, picked up the photo and looked at it. He frowned, raised his brows, thought for a moment, then frowned even more. "Huh," he said, "I don't remember this ever happening."

"That's because it _didn't_ happen," said Sam. "Don't you remember Tucker taking that picture in your living room?"

"Wait, you just said it didn't happen. How can I remember something that didn't happen?" asked Danny.

Sam huffed and rolled her eyes. "I meant that Paulina was never in your house! Tucker took that picture of you and _me_!"

"Let me see it." Tucker held out his hand. Danny handed him the picture. The tech geek studied the picture and also frowned. "I don't remember taking this."

Sam growled. "It doesn't matter if you remember it! Paulina definitely did something! She's plotting something!" She turned to Danny. "She's using you for something!"

"Something strange definitely happened last week," said Danny, "but we can't just pin all of it on Paulina. I mean, you know, stuff happens. Remember when all of those ghosts came after Paulina, and they all said _your_ name?"

"I don't know!" snapped Sam. "I don't know what was going on! I didn't tell those ghosts to do anything! Desiree must've just overheard something I said or…something! You can't blame _me_ for that!"

"Exactly," said Danny calmly. "That's what I mean. Perhaps whatever happened was just out of her control."

"Or," said Sam almost too sweetly, "she's just using you."

Danny stared at Sam. She didn't understand, she couldn't understand. She wasn't there when Paulina confessed her feelings for him. "Well…" Danny looked down at the table. "She said she knew I was Danny Phantom, but that she loved _me._"

"And you told me that you hated her!" Sam exclaimed.

"Well, I don't actually think I did," replied Danny. "She made me remember how I felt when I was on Dash's roof with her." He traced an abstract design on the table with his finger. "And, well…maybe I love her, too."

Sam abruptly stood up. "Danny, can I talk to you outside?"

Danny blinked, dazed. "Sure…" He stood as well. "Tuck, if Paulina comes before I get back, just keep her company, okay?"

"Okay," said Tucker, the picture still in his hand. He watched Sam and Danny leave, and then he was alone.

He wasn't sure what to think of everything that had just happened. On one hand, he was somewhat glad that his best friend finally had the girl that he had been crushing on for a while, but on the other hand, he knew that Danny also really liked Sam, and that Sam liked him in return. He had always thought—hoped, even—that his two best friends would one day get together.

_And maybe, now that they're alone…_ Tucker grinned. _Go, Sam!_

---------------------------------------------------------

One more section. Are you excited?


	29. 29

**Author's Note: **Sorry this is so late! My dad needed my laptop for, like, ever. I just now got it back.

Oh, dear. I have tons of reviewers saying that they'll be sick if this doesn't end with Danny/Sam, a good number of reviewers hoping for Danny/Paulina, and the few reviewers who recognize it's just a story and it doesn't really matter what happens. This is exactly why I was worried about the ending.

As for Danny accepting Paulina way too fast, well, he's tried to confess his feelings twice to different girls at this point (Valerie and Sam), but they both said no before he even got a chance. So, to hear Paulina say that she loves him is something that he's been wanting to hear not just from her, but from Valerie and Sam as well. Doesthis mean that really he loves her? He's only fourteen; what would he know about love anyway? Plus, Danny doesn't always think things through first. His strong desire to be popular has caused him to act brashly in Attack of the Killer Garage Sale, Lucky in Love,and Parental Bonding. It's just his nature, really, and while we would want him to act one way about things, we have to remember that he is only a boy, a freshman in high school. I tried to imply the feeling as best as I could without going into a huge explanation, but I suppose I'll have to fix it when I rewrite this whole story.

**The Luckiest Girl in the World**

"Hey, Tucker!" said Paulina, holding her tray of food. She sat down next to him. "Where's Danny?"

Tucker eyed her suspiciously. "Paulina, how do you _really _feel about him? I mean, are you only interested in him because he's also Danny Phantom?"

Paulina smiled. "I really like him, Tucker. He's a wonderful person." She remembered how nice the tech geek was to her when the wish was in effect. "You're a wonderful person, too!" She hugged him.

Tucker was stunned. "Wow, Paulina." He knew that even if she _was_ faking an interest in Danny, the Paulina from just two days before would never, ever hug him. "You've changed," he said.

"I have indeed," said Paulina, releasing the boy. "So, where's Danny?"

Tucker handed Paulina the picture. "What is that?" he asked, deliberately ignoring Paulina's query.

Paulina froze in shock. _How did he get this?_ She hesitated before answering, "Well, it's…it's a picture of me and Danny, obviously."

"Yeah, obviously." Tucker rolled his eyes. "When did it happen? Definitely not last night. Danny's mom moved that lamp on the table next to the couch a month ago."

Paulina shrugged. "Oh, well…remember that one time when Danny and I were dating for a little while?"

"I do," said Tucker with a smirk, "but you don't."

Paulina stared at him. How did he know? She didn't remember, it was true; she had only the testimonies of her friends as evidence of the whole incident, but how could he possibly know that? "What do you mean?"

"You were overshadowed by a ghost during that time," replied Tucker.

Paulina blinked. That explained a lot.

"Sam says that that picture definitely used to have her in it instead of you. Is that true?" asked Tucker.

"Sam saw it?" Paulina's eyes widened.

"She picked it up after you dropped it yesterday. Did you somehow steal the original from Sam and doctor it?" asked Tucker. "You're gonna have to teach me if you did. It's an amazing job."

Paulina slowly shook her head with conscious effort. "I did not." _Delphine did._

Tucker raised a brow. "Why are you wearing Goth clothes in the picture? In fact—" He stole a quick glance at the photo. "—those are _Sam's_ clothes, aren't they?"

"I look good in black," said Paulina with a shrug, "and you can find those clothes anywhere. I still had them from this one party of Dash's." She cursed Delphine under her breath. Delphine gave her this picture because it was what she, Paulina, wanted, or did Delphine just want to play on her emotions for her own sadistic pleasure, just like Danny said? Did the ghost want this to happen?

Tucker looked at her calmly and asked, "Paulina, where did you get this picture?"

Paulina looked at the photo, then back at Tucker. "It's mine," she said simply.

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Paulina, did you—"

"No."

Tucker frowned. "Look, Paulina, you can keep that for yourself if you want, but at least give the original back to Sam."

"This is the original," said Paulina. _And I'm not lying,_ she silently added. "Where's Danny?" she asked suddenly, her voice louder.

The abruptness of the question startled Tucker, causing him to answer without hesitation. "Oh, he's with Sam outside." He felt like smacking himself afterwards. He wanted Danny and Sam to be alone, to realize their true feelings for each other. Paulina had a way of ruining everything.

Paulina's mouth hung open in wonder. "Why…?"

Tucker searched his mind, trying to find some valid excuse. "Oh, just, you know—"

Paulina jumped to her feet. "You can have my lunch, Tucker." She ran out of the cafeteria, ignoring Tucker calling her name.

-DP-

Danny and Sam walked in awkward silence around the school. Danny waited for the Goth girl to say something, but she kept quiet. Finally, he said, "I really do think you like nice in that outfit, Sam."

"Thank-you," said Sam, but her tone was empty.

They stopped underneath a tree and stood. Neither said anything for several moments. Finally, Danny coughed and said, "The weather is…nice."

Sam looked at Danny with an expression of longing, frustration, and sadness. "Why Paulina?"

Danny blinked. "Sorry?"

Sam reddened. "Danny, out of all of the girls...why _Paulina_?"

Danny stared at her, then looked away. "Why does it bother you?"

Sam groaned. "Because you're my best friend, and I don't want to you to get hurt!"

"You don't need to worry about me, Sam," said Danny quietly. "I can take care of myself."

Sam said nothing for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. "Danny, Sunday night…when I said that I…"

Danny looked back at her, his eyes reflecting a question.

Sam swallowed. "When I said that I didn't feel the same way, I…Danny, I _do_ feel the same way."

Danny stepped back. "What?" He stared at her. "But…wait…what?"

"I don't know why I said that!" Sam cried. "I don't know! I don't know! I wasn't thinking! It isn't true! Not true at all!" She desperately fought her rising emotions, emotions that came out of nowhere. _Why am I feeling this way? This isn't me at all._ "I love you, Danny." She said it, but what effect would it have? "I love you." She chuckled. "The way you've been acting for the past couple of months…I thought maybe you felt the same way."

Danny swallowed and averted his gaze. He remembered the girl on the swing… "I do," he said softly.

Sam was surprised by this simple phrase. Danny explained further, "I _do_ feel that way about you." He put a hand to his head and started muttering and shaking his head.

"Danny?" Sam's tone was concerned.

"No, no, no, no…" he moaned. "No, no, no!" He focused his eyes on her again. He looked disoriented. "Why are you doing this? Why did you say that on Sunday if…?"

Sam growled. "I already told you! I don't know! It just happened! I just did! I don't know why! Just believe me now, please!" She felt tears springing to her eyes. "I can't stand seeing you with Paulina."

Danny's eyes widened at her outburst. He studied her. "Sam, what's going on?"

Sam blinked away a bit of the wetness in her eyes. "Hmm?"

"You just seem so…emotional. I've never seen you like this." He gently took hold of her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

A feeling washed over her, a horrible feeling of impending doom. It was something she had consciously felt ever since the morning of the day before. The week before that, she had felt nothing; she only acted, never thought. She remembered angrily snapping at Tucker earlier, something that she would've never normally done. "I don't know," she said. "Yesterday morning, I woke up and I felt…horrible. Depressed, even. I felt terrible about everything, my life." She looked at him warily. "I hated myself for everything I was."

Danny dropped his jaw in shock and released his hold on her shoulders. "Do you still feel like that?"

Sam shook her head. "No, no! I managed to get over it as the day went on! What's weird is…I've never felt like that before. Never. To wake up one day with such a feeling is just—I don't know." She exhaled loudly. "I still feel kind of depressed, though. I don't know why. Nothing too out of the ordinary has happened to make me feel this way. Well, except for you and Paulina getting together, but I felt like this before that even happened…"

Danny moved his eyes about her face. He was worried. "Sam, maybe you could see…a psychiatrist or something—"

Sam glared at him. "I don't need to see a psychiatrist!"

"Well, maybe it's something that—"

"No!" yelled Sam. "It's not like that! I don't know how to describe it! It's almost like an artificial feeling, as if it's not really mine, but somehow, it is!"

Danny looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or anything, but I worry about you. I care about you."

Sam threw her hands up into the air. "Oh, just answer my first question! Why are you with _Paulina_?"

"Well…" Danny shrugged, not sure how to cope with the confliction within him. "I like her, too, and well, you said that you didn't feel that way about me, so I..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I just kind of…got caught up in it, I guess." So, then, were his feelings for Paulina real? He wondered this, but if they weren't real, then maybe his feelings for Sam and even Valerie were just as false.

Sam clenched her fists. "Danny, do you love Paulina?"

"I…" He sadly shook his head, not as an answer, but in an attempt to clear his head. "I thought I did."

Sam said nothing. Her shock turned into numbness that surged through her whole body.

-DP-

Paulina ran, whipping her head around frantically. _No, you don't! Oh, no you don't, Sam!_

She finally spotted Danny and Sam talking together under a tree. She ran towards them and was surprised to find that they were not talking at all. They held one another's gaze with fierce intensity, as if in some sort of trance.

Paulina looked first at Danny, then Sam, then Danny again. "Um, what's going on?"

Danny sharply inhaled and tore his eyes away from Sam to look at Paulina. "Paulina!" he said breathlessly. Sam grimaced.

Paulina instantly brightened and put her arms around him. "I've been looking for you!" She kissed him and shot Sam a devious look. The Goth girl stood her ground.

Danny gently pushed the Hispanic girl away. "Paulina, you know…this isn't the best time right now."

"See?" shouted Sam, her voice shaking. "See? You like _her_!" She quickly swallowed. This wasn't like her. Why was she acting like this?

"No! No, I don't!" cried Danny.

"You don't?" Paulina was hurt.

Danny groaned. "I didn't mean it like that. Paulina, please. I need to talk to Sam alone."

Sam observed Paulina casually, aware of how close she was to Danny. She swiftly pulled Paulina away from him so that the two girls stood side by side. "Danny, which of us do you like?"

Danny said nothing. Sam sighed. "I promise I won't get mad, okay? I just…I just want to hear it from you."

Danny was quiet for a couple of seconds before responding, "I like you both."

"You can't like us both," said Sam.

"But I do," said Danny, "I do, and I don't know why."

The whole world seemed to be falling apart for Paulina. Perplexed and a little hysterical, she asked, "What is going on?"

"How could you like someone like _her,_ though?" asked Sam. "She only likes you because she knows you're her precious ghost boy. I always liked you! I always liked both sides of you! Valerie hates your ghost half, Paulina hated your human half, but I _always_ liked all of you!"

Danny sighed. His heart went out to his friend, to the girl that had always been there for him. "Sam, I just—isn't it possible for other girls to like me? You can't be so hard on Paulina. She didn't know before, and now she does, and just because you're the first girl I've ever actually…" He stopped.

"Yes, I didn't know before. Is that my fault?" demanded Paulina of Sam. Sam turned to her with weary eyes. "I didn't know before, but now I do. You're not the only one that likes all of him."

Sam glared at her. "I don't know what you're trying to do, Paulina, but I don't trust you. You've always treated us like we were no one."

"I've changed!" cried Paulina. "Doesn't anyone understand that?"

Sam released Paulina and said, "You should just pick her. She'd probably blackmail if you didn't." She didn't mean it. Of course she didn't want Danny to pick the Latina. It was just an outburst of emotion, a silent cry for Danny to reconsider everything.

"How would I do that?" asked Paulina, her hands on her hips. She was angry now.

"You'll tell everyone he's Danny Phantom if he doesn't date you, right?" Sam pressed. "Right?"

"No, I wouldn't," said Paulina, appalled.

"Ha!" cried Sam, throwing her head back. She had never felt so livid in her life. How was Paulina able to provoke that part of her?

"I wouldn't!" protested Paulina. "I wouldn't because I really do like Danny, and…" She turned to the boy. "You like me, too…right?"

Danny was sad and confused. He didn't really know what to do. "I do," he said.

Sam lowered her eyes and started to walk away. Danny grabbed her arm before she could get too far. "Sam, don't be like that. Please."

Sam blinked, puzzled by his disconsolate expression.

Danny sighed and turned back to the Hispanic girl. "Paulina, I'm sorry, but…I don't think this is going to work right now."

Paulina felt her heart shatter. She tried to move, tried to say something to him, anything. Why was this happening? They hadn't even been together for a whole day…

Danny shrugged. His mind felt clouded over. "You know, maybe we're too young for this anyway. We're just freshmen." He smiled resignedly and walked away. The two girls stared after him.

Paulina and Sam met each other's eyes. Sam glared at the other girl and asked in a low tone, "Where is my picture?"

Paulina felt a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. She knew what the Goth was talking about. She could feel the photo in her pocket. "Your picture?"

"Don't play dumb," said Sam quietly. "I want it back. Where is it?"

"I really don't know what you're talking about."

"You dropped a photo yesterday. I picked it up. It was my picture, but instead of me, it was you! How did you do that? Why did you do that? Where is the real picture?" demanded Sam.

Paulina tried to look innocent. "You picked it up? Well, why don't you let me see it so that I know what you're talking about?"

Sam took off one of her school bag straps from her shoulder and swung the pack around to her front. She searched for several minutes. Paulina watched her, waiting patiently. Finally, the Goth threw up her hands in defeat and looked back up at Paulina. "I can't find it."

Paulina raised a brow. "Well, then, I'm afraid I can't help you."

Sam glared at her. "You did something. Last week…you did something. I don't know what, but you definitely did something. What are you plotting?"

"Nothing," Paulina answered truthfully.

Sam narrowed her eyes and briskly walked away. Paulina watched her leave, a pang of guilt hitting her with a terrible force. _She really likes him._ Paulina lowered her eyes. _I…took him away from her._ She thought she heard Delphine laugh, but quickly dismissed it as her imagination. How could everything go so wrong in such a short amount of time?

She straightened up. _No more. No more lying and cheating. If I want Danny, I'll get him myself. No tricks._ _I won't give up. I will press forward._

The bell rang. She headed back to the school. Everything was different now. _She_ was different now. The old her would've been angry and wanted revenge. Nobody broke up with the old Paulina. The new Paulina, however, felt fresh determination.

"Paulina, you're with Danny?" asked Star, running up to her in the hall. "Ha! I _knew_ you liked him!"

Paulina smiled. "You were right," she said, "and someday, maybe he'll come back to me."

Someday?

Someday…

Someday seemed so far away and yet, so close. Maybe someday, she'd turn into one of the losers she used to make fun of, or maybe someday, she'd go back to her old, shallow ways. If _that_ ever happened—

A thought mildly amused her, something that Sam said. Paulina grinned. If that ever happened, well, then she'd have something to blackmail the ghost boy with.

----------------------------------------------------

The End! Why does it end here, with so many unanswered questions? Two reasons:

1. While there were other characters thrown in, it was mostly a plot of discovery for _Paulina, _a search for understanding about human nature, about _her_ nature. She slowly but surely made realizations about her life and even changed for the better. Her last lesson here was that she couldn't always have her way, that she could lose. She's not a completely transformed individual. Of course she still isn't perfect, but it's the beginning of the rest of her life for her. She sees things differently now. The story was mostly about her, and so it really was only obligated to end her conflict.

2. It's not actually over yet. Nope. This leads into Sam's own story of discovery which I felt like writing when I finished the planning for this story. I had so much fun with Paulina that I thought I'd give Sam a try. It's not in my profile since I really don't want to advertise something with no title yet. I want to kind of match "The Luckiest Girl in the World" where the word "luckiest" is meant to be somewhat ironic, but I just can't think of anything. I'm so lame...

And now, I know a lot of you are wondering this, and since there won't be a next section, Iwill answer it here. If you have another question that you really, really, really want me to answer, say so in a review or send me a message.

_Why did it end with no pairing?_ Danny felt kind of flustered. He thought that he loved Paulina, but then he wasn't sure. So, he also wondered if maybe his feelings for Sam weren't exactly real. Something like that can really mess with one's head, you know? To end it with Danny/Paulina wouldn't have made any sense because their relationship wasn't built on anythingvery solid. As much as I would've loved for Danny and Paulina to get together, I just knew it wouldn't work. Ending it with Danny/Sam is the only thing that makes sense, but Danny isn't heartless like some ofyou guys. He wouldn't immediately take Sam after breaking up with Paulina. Not only that, but he doesn't know what his true feelings are at the moment for anyone. Okay, and now for a more practical answer. The story is about Paulina, so the ending needed to somewhat revolve around Paulina. For this kind of story, ending it with her being sad wouldn't work.It had to either be a happy endingor a bittersweet ending. Having her live"happily ever after" with Danny was obviously out of the question, so the ending had to be bittersweet. For it to end with Danny/Sam would only make Paulina sad and angry/jealous at the current point she is at in her life. No, she wouldn't have been happy that Danny had someone who was right for him. She did not change that much in such a short amount of time. So, the only option so that the ending worked for Paulina was to have no pairing at the end. But, you know, that'll make for a better sequel anyway.

I would really like to thank all who reviewed individually, but that would be a rather long list if I put it here, seeing as there are over 100 individual reviewers for this story(yes, I counted just to see if I could do that). So, maybe I'll send you guys messages. Well, I can't do that for anonymous reviews...I'll try and think of something. I really wish I could devote a chapter to it, but that's against the rules. But, in advance, thank-you! Even though a bunch of you probably hate it now...I'll make up for it with the sequel, I promise! You don't have to read it, I guess, but since most of you like Sam and hate Paulina, most of you will probably like the sequel more.

When is the sequel going to be up? I don't really know. In the near future, but there's no set date. I have to at least get the first 10,000 words done before I even think about it.


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